Presentation for creative project

Project 9

Our genre is action.
We plan to reflect this genre by using special effects such as slow motion, and other various camera technics, with a second line of action. I would feel that the location, being an alleyway would also reflect the action genre.
We have rationalised that this would work better as a Extract rather than a short, because there is no "Definite" start/middle/end.
Our main target audience would be those aged 12-25 and fans of the genre.
We would focus mainly on camera and editing.
The avengers: Joss Wheedon

Transporter: Louis Leterrier

Sherlock: Guy Ritchie

Time start: 1:40

The location will be outside the college, and an alleyway in New addington, Brierley road.

Performers are: Jack, Courtney, Chay, Sol and Dan

Behind camera: Krys, Koro

Analysis of Pulp fiction using Mise en Scene and performance and Camera

The setting of this extract is in one room, this is a "hideout" for the other three characters. The main prop used in this scene is the big kahuna burger and sprite. This is used to show the twist of power, the character Brett thinks that he has the power, because he is giving the money over and that he has played Marcel Wallace and has gotten away with it, however, Jules has been sent to intimidate and kill Brett because of this. So the Prop which is owned by Brett is then used to show the intimidation because Jules asks for it, knowing it is his, and Brett cowardly replies "yes". However when Jules takes it, he takes almost all of it, ad takes all of the sprite, this is showing the intimidation because Brett then says nothing.

costume, hair make up

The difference between the two types of character, the heavy business men who take orders and the ones who have no power ( power struggle ) is that the characters Jules and vincent wear clean cut suits with ties. This looks professional and confident, like any man on a mission. Contradictory to this is the characters of Brett and Burr and Marvin, because they are wearing jeans and polo neck t-shirts, almost Hawaii styled, this creates the look of comfort and relaxation. So immediately the costumes of the characters express what their motive is and also their status on the dominance rank.

The use of the setting is clever, because the setting itself is quite small so the use of camera work in this limited space works well. The use of close ups creates the amplified effect of emotions, for example when the character played by

costume, hair make up

The difference between the two types of character, the heavy business men who take orders and the ones who have no power ( power struggle ) is that the characters Jules and vincent wear clean cut suits with ties. This looks professional and confident, like any man on a mission. Contradictory to this is the characters of Brett and Burr and Marvin, because they are wearing jeans and polo neck t-shirts, almost Hawaii styled, this creates the look of comfort and relaxation. So immediately the costumes of the characters express what their motive is and also their status on the dominance rank.

The use of the setting is clever, because the setting itself is quite small so the use of camera work in this limited space works well. The use of close ups creates the amplified effect of emotions, for example when the character played by Samuel L Jackson (Jules) asks "What does Marcel Wallace look like" the character sat in the chair says "what", this creates Jules to become infuriated, like I mentioned this is amplified by the use of a close up.

Also the camera work amplifies the period in which Jules is about to shoot the character Brett, he walks away, and the camera tracks him, but does not move, and then Jules spins while presenting his monologue and holds his gun up at Brett, at this point the camera zooms into a close up of Jules face to show his incentive and the lack of remorse.

Throughout the scene the characters of Jules and Vincent are always stood up, they never crouch and they always stay straight, in all their movements, like when Jules raises his arm there is no bending of the elbow, this creates the look of professionalism and the effect that he knows what he is doing, and that he has done it a thousand times before. However Brett and the others never get up (apart from Marvin), they are either laying on the couch, to show they are unaware of the imminent danger, or they are sat in the middle of the room, like they are being interrogated, and when they try to get up, a stern look forces them back into his seat.

The use of lighting is quite yellow, this is to show the use of dark and dingy, like the characters that are inside it are rats. But the best use of lighting was the briefcase. Instead of showing the audience what is in the briefcase, the director uses a bright yellow light to symbolise what would be inside the briefcase. This leaves the audience to wonder whether the character is seeing money, drugs or something that would emit a yellow light, I feel that this is clever, because it shows that the endeavour of Jules and Vincent was not for what is in the briefcase, it was to show that Marcel was angry and wanted the respect and pride of knowing they paid for making him angry, this is also shown when they leave Marvin alive, to show that no one should mess with Marcel. Samuel L Jackson (Jules) asks "What does Marcel Wallace look like" the character sat in the chair says "what", this creates Jules to become infuriated, like I mentioned this is amplified by the use of a close up.

Also the camera work amplifies the period in which Jules is about to shoot the character Brett, he walks away, and the camera tracks him, but does not move, and then Jules spins while presenting his monologue and holds his gun up at Brett, at this point the camera zooms into a close up of Jules face to show his incentive and the lack of remorse.

Throughout the scene the characters of Jules and Vincent are always stood up, they never crouch and they always stay straight, in all their movements, like when Jules raises his arm there is no bending of the elbow, this creates the look of professionalism and the effect that he knows what he is doing, and that he has done it a thousand times before. However Brett and the others never get up (apart from Marvin), they are either laying on the couch, to show they are unaware of the imminent danger, or they are sat in the middle of the room, like they are being interrogated, and when they try to get up, a stern look forces them back into his seat.

The use of lighting is quite yellow, this is to show the use of dark and dingy, like the characters that are inside it are rats. But the best use of lighting was the briefcase. Instead of showing the audience what is in the briefcase, the director uses a bright yellow light to symbolise what would be inside the briefcase. This leaves the audience to wonder whether the character is seeing money, drugs or something that would emit a yellow light, I feel that this is clever, because it shows that the endeavour of Jules and Vincent was not for what is in the briefcase, it was to show that Marcel was angry and wanted the respect and pride of knowing they paid for making him angry, this is also shown when they leave Marvin alive, to show that no one should mess with Marcel.

First draft

First draft

The title of the film is Iron Man 2, the year of release for this film was 2010 and the director of this film was Jon Favreau.The film is about a rich man who owns a weapons company, but he encounters a evil villain who ends up working for his competitor and tries to kill him and take over the world. This is quite obviously a Action film.This specific extract comes at the start of the film and is about Stark (Robert Downey Jr) being accused of withholding a weapon from the government, but he doesn't want to give it up.

I found that this scene was very juxtaposing, as the rest of the film is very action packed and stuffed with special effects. I would chose the following theme, power and manipulation and use Mise-en-scene and performance to analyse these.
Firstly, the location of this extract is set in a small "court" room, in which would give the audience a sense of oppression which reflects the fact that he is being sentenced. I feel that this is amplified with the use of space, as the back of the set is not used much, apart from extras, making the room seem smaller.
The props in this extract are the Tv screens and the use of effects, and that it is meant to be "live" on Tv.
The first prop is used as evidence against Stark, to show him that his weapon is being redeveloped, however Stark then uses his phone to take over the screens to give him proof that they are not as much of a threat, which tips the balance of power in Starks favour. The other prop I feel this gives a sense of realism towards the audience, because it gives them the feel that they are watching the news, or a channel broadcasting this. I feel that this can help increase the way that the audience react and relate to the scene by "adding" them into the movie.
Next is the lighting, the lighting in this scene is very high key, as all the main three lights are fully lit, this draws attention to the character, I think that the back light is maybe less well lit as the audience behind Stark is maybe dark and hidden. I feel that the lighting draws attention to the main character and maybe gives the audience more to focus on Stark and his emotions, especially in the close ups.
The lighting of the Starks peers is bright but also dark, as they have definite shadows, creating the "good vs bad" scenario.
The positioning of the characters is well placed, I think this because the Main character is centre of the frame and set, I think this also draws attention to him as a character, but also, the fact that the peers are in front of him, they are also on a higher platform, giving the sense of downtroddenism. Also the crowd behind him includes Pepper, who is his assistant who always looks out for him, maybe adding to the phrase " i've got your back". I feel this helps in the power struggle as Stark at the start is quite the underdog but uses props to shift the power in his favour.

The use of the hair and make up, give him the look of cockiness or confidence, as he is wearing a sharp cut suit and his hair is pointy and straight, I feel that these add to the end of the extract because is shows confidence and that is what he uses to his advantage to gain the upper hand. This is amplified with the use of Robert facial expressions, for example, Robert himself uses this scene to express many emotions, this is due to the power shift, for example, to start with he has to express fear and worry, where-as in the middle he has to express confidence and cockiness and in the end he has to express triumph and glory, in such a short sequence. This is unusual to a action movie considering that mostly the main character only has to express maybe anger or glory. I think that Robert played this convincingly because it is meant to be naturalistic, because he has to reflect how we would be in that situation and make us believe that the emotions he puts across are real.

Robert did not have to change very much of his own persona or his appearance to play the part of this role, where some may see this as lazy or boring, I would say that this adds to the performance as he can act how he would as his persona, so he doesn't run the risk of sounding unbelievable or breaking character.

Robert uses the characters in this extract to convey his own emotions, for example, Pepper is there to support him, and she is very close to him, so he opens up to her a little more. She also acts a mother figure, when she tells Robert off with a stern look for gloating, especially considering he at this point is still the underdog. Another person who has a deep relationship with the Stark is his best friend, who comes in to try and "help" but unfortunately they use him against Stark by only reading part of his report. I feel that at this point Robert really makes Stark come alive in this part because, he is basically being betrayed by his best friend. I feel that robert portrayed his emotions well to express betrayal and hate towards his peers and also frustration as they use their own powers to twist the power in their favour.
I feel that he helps portray the feeling of the power shift by changing his whole mood and becoming someone with the power, for example to begin with he is slouchy, tries to use comedy to divert subjects, however, once they make his friend betray him, he becomes angry in confidence by becoming straight, talking briefly and making a lot fewer jokes, because he knows he is in power.

Analysis of "In Bruges"

 In Bruges

Firstly, In Bruges uses these Mise-en-scene aspects to develop and reflect the characters of Ray, Ken and Harry by firstly using Setting and props, this is the most common way, the film uses Location very wisely, as it could just be set in the one hotel room, rather than the whole of Bruges, by doing this, they can introduce different characteristics of the characters, for example, when they visit the bell tower, Ken goes up, because he is enthusiastic about the location, whereas Ray stayed at the bottom doing nothing, this shows a significant difference between the characters, indicating that maybe Ken is more mature in comparison. Later this is also shown when they go to the church, where again, Ken stays and Ray leaves out of frustration and boredom. 

Another way the location develops the characters is that, being in a confined location, the characters explore their past, and they reflect on their mistakes, in this scene Ray opens the past, of his first contract, and explains about the death of the child. This makes the characters strange compared to the normal impression of Hit-men, they are thought of as very controlled and composed, whereas these two are not. They express their emotions.

Next, the costume. They are wearing overcoats, leather jackets e.t.c but they don't look like the average assassin, for example, Hit-man wears a suit, leather gloves, which gives the impression of a cold, emotionless killer. Where-as Ken and Ray wear more colorful clothing, and at one point Ray wears glasses, which is strange to see in a action movie, because I think it does reveal a lot of the characters personality. The make up isn't very important in this film, which is common in action movies, apart from the scenes of injuries, like when Ken is bleeding and then at the bottom of the tower after throwing himself off. I think the way that they use the make up in these two scenes is very effective and it helps extenuate the emotion of the character Ray.
 
The lighting and colour in this film produce different emotions and feelings, especially for the audience, for example the start is quite dim, but the main effect is the lack of very much colour, its not like the middle where many warm colours are used. Another scene this is prevalent in is the scene in which Ken dies, the lighting is dim, especially in the stairs, but the weather is also cloudy and dark, which produces quite an amount of doubt and fear in the audience towards Ken and Ray. This is also used in the scene where Ray is almost shot, the lighting is quite bright and colourful, which I believe is to give the audience hope.

 I think the positioning within a frame can be key in some aspects, for example the scene in which the character Ken and Harry where in the tower and the stairs, the two characters were fighting on the stair well, which was a hard location to film, as a long shot would be ridiculous. Another way that they did well with this was the trailing blood scene, and how they followed the stream to Ken, who was climbing the tower.
Another time this was key was when the coins were dropped from the top, the camera had the couple at the restaurant talking but the view had the tower in the background, so the coins were visible.

The actual performance of the characters was very good, because at no point did I feel that it wasn't natural or unbelievable ( maybe apart from the bit where he is still alive from a 100 meter fall ), but they have had to give a what would normally be a quite calm controlled and emotionless character, some meaning and relationship, I think that this helps with creating a relationship between the characters and the audience, which really helps in the two scenes in which Ray nearly gets shot by Ken, and where Ken dies. I also feel that another way that this has been done is by introducing a bit of comedy in the film, not a lot, but subtle enough to create a warm feeling for what otherwise would be a cold character. I think that the lack of this helps develop a hate of the character Harry, who only really appears in the second half of the movie, but his first "entrance" where he sends the letter with much swearing and anger whilst we start to see Ray and Kens character draws hate to him, as we see that Ray and Ken are humans, and that they have feelings.

Analysis of Forest Gump and The Matrix using Camera

I have chosen two extracts, the first is Forest Gump and the second is The Matrix

I have chosen the scene of Forest gump running for a long way across the country, and to contrast this I have chosen the scene where Neo learns Kung Fu.

Firstly, Forest gump mainly uses medium length shots where the chest and head are visible, but along with that they use many long shots. These uses of shots are to show how he has a larger following each time the chronological order skipped maybe a week, and to show the character in more detail and to let him express emotions and to interact with others they use medium shots, this is so both the main character and the other character are shown, but also so his following crowd is visible too, these shots tend to be about 2-10 seconds long each, this creates a sense of time and slow pace to make the audience feel like it has been a long time.

However the matrix is very different, the use of the scene is fast paced and ranges dramatically, they also use slow motion to complete that effect. I feel that this increases the speed of time and also helps to give the audience a sense of action and a sort of thrill. They also use many different camera shots from long shot to close ups, this gives the audience the ability to process what is happening in the fighting sequence but also what the characters are feeling. 

A way that both these films are similar is that the Forest gump movie uses cut aways frequently, between characters that he has interacted with and the love of his life to keep the audience interested and to also create a second narrative alongside the current one. The Matrix also does this, because they cut between the fast paced fighting scene and the alternate universe in which their friends are watching all of this actions and moves. 

One last way in which both these films differ is that the Forest gump movie does not use many different angles, the shots tend to stay level, apart from some long shots in which they are tracking the character, this creates the sense of consistency, whereas The Matrix uses many different angles, along with the range of distance shots, for example, tracking shots, trolly shots and mainly, canter angle shots, in which many actions are performed. I find this amplifies the effect of the faced paced fight scene.

Idea for Final Analysis

My idea for my final analysis would be the court scene from Iron Man 2, With Tony Stark as the main character played by Robert Downie Jr

I chose this scene from the film because unlike the rest of the film it is not action packed or stuffed with special effects, instead it is the development of the characters.

I would chose the following theme, Worry and Laughter.

I would also chose the following categories to analysis this scene with Mise-en-scene, Performance and Cinematography.

The reasons I chose these forms of analysis would be because for Mise-en-scene I can point out the location of the scene and how it is used to express hidden meanings such as oppression, being sentenced etc.

I would also point out about the use of make up and hair, that it makes him look more confident or cocky.

I would also then use the last point being Roberts use of facial expressions and his body language to move swiftly onto the Performance of Robert himself. 

I would briefly describe what he has done to prepare for the role previous to production. I would note that this genre of film (action) requires what I think, the least amount of acting skills out of all genres, but this scene requires a certain amount of acting skill.

Lastly I would analyses the Cinematography. First I would mention that the use of space in the scene is well done mainly with the distance of shots. But also the camera movement too. I would also mention the Lighting with this analytical theme, Ie. the way that they use the main three to produce the least shadow to amplify the face of the characters.

Analysis Of Performance - Life Of Pi

Performance analysis, Life Of Pi

My analysis is of Suraj Sharma playing Pi Patel.

Firstly, lets discuss what he did prior to the role.

To prepare for the role of a part, you have to fit every aspect of what is expected by the Director or, in this case because it is an adaptation of a book, the description of the character ( depending whether the director is following the book like a bible...).

The actor is very fitting to the description of the character, 

He isn't too tall, nor too short. (5".9')

The character is healthy due to his involvement with parents, being wealthy, but he then loses much weight due to the abandonment on the boat.

I think Suraj did well to fit the part here because he had to diet and practically starve to look the part.

He fits the ethnicity/nationality of the character.

And he also fits the speaking style as he is from New Delhi, India.

Most of this is not prepared but chosen by the cast director, but the weight is something that takes a lot of mental strength.

He also had to grow out his hair to fit the part too.

The reason he was cast was because, 

"Several rounds of auditions ended when director Ang Lee chose Sharma because of his expressive eyes and innocent appearance."

Also 

"According to him, Sharma had not only the emotion, but also the "look" of Pi. His "medium complexion" and "average build" were deemed perfect for the role."

To play the part Suraj had to gain a lot of experience, he had to take part in many things, the first was Yoga, he also had to attend acting lessons becuase he is a new actor and has never been in a film before, he also had to learn how to breath, what the ocean was like, because he had not known much about it, along with that he had to learn how to swim, but the toughest was gaining weight and losing weight dramatically. These are hard enough alone, but when you have to do them all, throughout pre production, production and post production, it has to be very difficult. Although he was picked for his looks, he was not picked for his abilities. Which proves quite difficult especially on a deadline too.

This genre of film was Adventure/Drama/Fantasy. 
This is quite a range of genres for one film, but also, has a lot of expectations with it too for example, for those genres there is a specific type of acting that you have to do, it's naturalistic, this is because if the director would want the audience to get involved in the film and relate or even question the film, the actor has to make the whole scene seem believable even if the location is surreal.

The character has a main role in the setting of the story ( the narrated start ), in this he has to act very young and nieve, but throughout the film, the actor develops with the the maturing form of the character, there is a second meaning to the film, (which is found near the end ) where the animals on the boat relate to the people on the boat, and the Tiger was ment to represent him and his dealing with the evil inside him, after the killing of his (mother) Orang-utan. Whereas this can be easily hidden by the actors performance, but when analysed further, the performance can be seen to have an underlying theme, with the mental reality and dealing with the underlying metaphor.


 In this scene in which Pi (Suraj) is trying to "train" the Tiger, because he has to try and survive with the Tiger, during this scene he has to get a range of emotions across to the audience, ranging from scared, confident, angry and relief. 
I think that Suraj did amazingly in this scene because he managed to convey all these emotions without seeming unrealistic, which makes the acting seem more naturalistic, again, involving the audience.


With all these factors included I think that he has managed to adapt and become the character very well to play the part, especially considering the amount of training he had to do.

Analysis on Mise En Scene, "I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay"

"I'm A Cyborg, But That's Okay" ("Ssa-i-bo-geu-ji-man-gwen-chan-a")

 This is a Korean film about a girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg and is checked into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls.

 This films Genre is a bit cloudy, it is like a Romance, thriller or maybe a horror. Which makes it very untypical of most films.

Tarun Shanker

 "The film has a slower pace than the director’s previous works and it strikes a strange hybrid tone where it is far too cute to be like his dark revenge flicks, but it’s a bit too dark and odd to be a cute romantic date film. Some viewers may simply find that too jarring a blend."

I think personally think that the film is actually a Romance/Thriller/Comedy. I believe this becuase the film left me at quite a few points laughing, but also cute enough to make me feel it was a romance. But due to the actual narrative of the film, I beleive that the film is overall a Thriller, quite a confusing one at that.

Due to the mix of genres in which this film could be put under, I shall analyse each one.

 Romance

 Firstly, location of the movie. 

It starts at a factory, with the step-by-step process of making a radio in the background almost as white noise. After she then almost commits suicide by trying to "recharge herself", she is emitted to a Mental hospital, where the rest of the film is set. 

I have seen romance films set in Hospitals and maybe some factories but I never seen one in a Mental Institute, which is very untypical of a romance movie. Although, the way it is done, works quite well, because it shows the moral spirit and connectivity of the people inside the mental institute for this girl.

In the film, there are 3 main costumes, factory costume, hospital costume and normal clothing, mainly the main character wears the hospital costume and I think this is done to take the view away from the costume, so more is focused on the ever changing and somewhat confusing storyline. Again, this is very unlike a normal romance film.

The main props in the film are items that the patients find close to them, firstly, the object of Il-sun's was a large locket of his mother, this is a common object for a romance film, another object was of Young-goon's it was false teeth of her grandmothers, I see the idea, and how it works in this film, and how it is relivant, but it is so strange to see as a prop in a romance.
The make up in this film is very much "basic" in the way that is it meant to look naturalistic, it isn't meant to be out of the ordinary as there has to be some kind of conformity. Usually in romance films the make up is bright and colorful to accentuate feelings such as love and lust.

Thriller

 Secondly, is Thriller, commonly these are dark, confusing and almost always contains a plot twist. 

This is quite like that in the storyline and the narrative and the way the plot is somewhat confusing featuring the viewpoint of the characters, bearing in mind that they think that they possess the problems they are in the institute for. So in this way I would say that this film is typical to a Thriller.

The location is also very much typical to a Thriller too, because a mental institute is a very dark, emotionally twisted, strange and confusing. So in this instance it is also very typical of a Thriller.

However the costume is not, the costume is bright, and plain, although plain is typical, the brightness of them is not, because Thrillers like not to amplify the amount of change the costume has on the film.

The props in the film are nothing like you would find in a Thriller, unless however, the main character was to have to find the owners to these strange and weird objects.

The make up is typical to a Thriller in the way that it is plain, and removes the features of the characters, creating mystery.

Comedy 

 This film made me laugh a lot at some points, maybe not for the storyline, or probably not intended either, but some scenes were confusing in a way that made me laugh because they made no sense. Another way this film made me laugh was when the filming changed to the perspective of the characters, not only did it present confusion but laughter because the strange warped world was different.

The location of this film I think doesn't matter too much in the way that it doesn't matter much where the location of a comedy film is, as the location does not play much of a part, especially in comparison to say, the speech in the movie, as the speech changes everything, for example the film "Shaun Of The Dead" was set in the location of an apocalyptic wasteland in the suburbs, but the speech made it comedic.

I have to say the costume in this film is quite comedic in the way that the other main character Il-sun, wears a helmet all the time, and it has features that hide him away from others, and the way that they use this makes it very comedic film.

The props in this film are also comedic, for instance, do you hear of a 20 year old walking around with their grandmothers false teeth in their mouth. Another funny prop would be the "Flight socks" that one characters possess, this enables her to "fly", except if you have eaten chicken.

The make up is very in-specific, I wouldn't say that the make up would make a film funny, unless say, it was a clown. Then again there are a few moments in which the characters have a splodge of paint placed on their face. But I wouldn't say it is very contribuic to the movie and it's comedic effects.

Over all I would personally class this movie as a Rom/Com due to the characters and the Mise En Scene, but the narrative of the film is very much Thriller.

Analysis of prop, "Limitless".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHoMZAkKKQM

    Clip    "Access All Of Your Brain"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh3nHKrTxG0      Clip    "What's it called?"  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaPqiTJnTvQ

    Clip   "Alive for the whole shebang"

I have obtained three key clips from the movie Limitless, they each refer to the prop significantly.

NZT, it is the name of a performance drug used by the main character in this film, "Limitless". and it is the prop that I plan to analyse.

In the first clip I chose the one of the first clips to introduce the prop. He meets his old sisters cousin, who was previously a drug dealer, to see how he is getting on.

The cousin explains that he is "no longer a drug dealer" and works for a pharmaceutical company with a new drug. They chat about it for a little, what it does. Then Vernon leaves, also leaving behind the prop NZT. ( Which later Eddie decides to try.)

In this scene the prop is made significant from the narrative because before it is even seen, it is mentioned and there is controversy already, leaving hesitation on the use of it, but caves in because it is said to be okay, It also makes the audience believe that maybe the character Vernon has changed and may have been helping him.

When the NZT is passed over the table to Eddie, it was hidden under Vernons hand, and left, in the middle of the table, between the two for a couple of seconds, to let the NZT sink in. But again, hesitation sinks in, and when it does, the camera changes to middle shots, hiding the NZT again, as Vernon tries to hoax him into trying it.

The next clip is after Eddie has tried the drug, he decides to go back to Vernon's home and see if he can get some more of this incredible drug that he feels addicted to now. And he feels like he'd do anything to take it again, although, when he enters the flat, he realizes that Vernon was attacked, and that this may be dangerous, along with the fact that he finds that the drug may not be completley legal. Again even though the NZT is never shown during this clip, the whole narrative is affected by it.

It was hard to find a clip with the NZT in it, but there is a clip in the film in which he hold it in his hand, the background is dark and grey and his hand is bright, almos white and dazzling, and the pill in centred in the middle of the frame.

Maybe the NZT being centered in the middle of the screen shows a relation to the fact that everything in Eddie's life at that point is "Centered" around the NZT.

In the last clip I have chosen, Eddie is being held hostage by a man who he owed money to, who stole his drug once, and wants more, at this point he is willing to torture and look everywhere for it.

In this scene though, the character talks about how he has changed, how he has "evolved with the affect of the drug."

He says that he is moving to a new business with more money, how he has learned new words. In short how it has changed his life.

He uses this new knowledge, to intimidate Eddie, to show how he is better than Eddie, in the hope to recieve more of this "life changing drug".

Even though in all these clips the NZT is never seen apart from once, the use of narrative and the development of the characters shows how NZT is predominant and significant even with the lack of it's presence.

Mise en Scéne

Mise en Scéne, is the term used for anything visual in front of the camera, such as props, actors, their placement of these objects, the lighting, all of that, this creates a mood or effect that can highlight or extenuate a characters mood, or feeling. But it could also contrast what the character could be thinking, but making the set light and having the character unhappy, this would be juxtaposing.

What I will analyse is a scene from The Karate Kid (2010)

During this scene we have two opponents fighting for the title of champion, previously the opponent is injured and has a broken leg.This is shown with the mood of the character, because he is feeling disheartened and hurt, so the scene to start is dark and bleak, but when he lifts his leg, and the audience realises what he is about to do, ( leaving appropriate time, to ensure this it is in slow motion, including the background ), when he is in the desired stance the camera pans up, and light beams down, showing hope and prospectful glory. Also during this scene, to begin with the camera is wobbly, just like when he is lifting his leg up into the desired stance, to maybe give the audience the emotion and nervousness and trepidation that he is feeling. Also, just before the attention is drawn away from the main actor, the background darkens, he becomes the highlight, he has reached "his zen".

Next, the camera changes between all the people that are resting and hoping that this child will win, and defeat his opponent, or maybe a few that want to destroy him. Also in this part, the camera flicks from the main actor to his trainer, and his astonishment on what he is about to do, but then to the previous winner and how nervous he is, this is then backed by having the camera change to the coach of his, and what the coach expects of him is reenforced.

After this, the whole scene becomes about the two opponents, and close ups of their face, almost like a cowboy film and a mexican stand off. But soon after this is broken by the flags of the referee, creating a break of the stand off and the camera zooms out and shows the realisation of the largeness of the stadium and his task, overwhelming the audience, to maybe make their mind hesitate about whether he will win, now his focus is broken.

The slow motion is broken briefly to highlight this, but then the slow motion is reintroduced and is slower to show the challengers move, his "finishing" move.

After the Previous champion is defeated, the camera pans to everyone, the coaches the previous fighters, his mother, all the people that he has faced, or he has had behind him supporting him.

Finally the slow motion is broken completely and the victor receives a trophy, at this point the room is very bright and loud.

To analyse this film completely I turned the sound off. But afterwards I turned the sound on, and the sound highlighted these effects and emotions futher.

Sound of Cinema: The Music that Made the Movies

Neil Brand explains that adding music to a scene can add a whole new story, depending on the music, for instance when music that is played in different ways, it adds different moods a expressions that the scene may never be able to produce otherwise, like the coffee scene by John Barry, in the "Ipcress file".

He explains that central to Barry's theme is a Chimbolum, a hungarian hammered dulcima, this unique sound played gives a sort of "spy" theme to his score, along with the highlights in which bring the lightheartedness of the scene out, otherwise there would be too much of a scene of danger. 

Martin Scorsese explains that he tries throughout all his films to create the score throughout the whole film to excentuate the dialogue, the camera movement and the actors themselves, but also not forgetting about the scene which they are in. He says that this is all critical to have together to produce what is undoubtedly a thicker storyline and scene.

To begin with the films had no sound, no music, they were silent, so to accompany that they had a machine that produced a variety of sounds, that a musician would play alongside the movie, but unfortunately the film makers had no control over what they played,sometimes they also had their own orchestra, so every experience was different. So one film maker decided to integrate the two together, sound and movie, to create an altogether more appealing movie. But this was done with a disk, which was "synced" to the projector, this was called "Vitaphone". This was used for a film called "The Jazz Singer", but this included talking too, only a few lines, but they had created the first "Talkie".

People during this stage were convinced that people wouldn't want to hear the music without seeing the musicians themselves, but this meant that they could not produce and underscore, but only opening and closing credit music. Making the films pretty dull.

But in 1933 that all changed, when Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack created King Kong, with this film they created a underscore the whole way through, creating emotions and hidden dialogue, it also gave King Kong a lighthearted effect, making the viewers feel sorry for him. This was only possible through the soundtrack, also it helped with all the scenes, this is done by throughout the whole film, adding a score to associate with King Kong, with different instruments, or in a different key.

The one composer who changed film the most, was Erich Wolfgang Korngold. He started as a composer for operas and theatre work. He created magical pieces of work, and was hired by Warner Brothers to work on most of their films, he was so highly regarded that he could chose what he wanted and could make them film extra scenes so he could finish his score, at that time no composer had that freedom.They kept all his work.

In the late 1900's a new type of film emerged, which was called, film "noir" which was about moralities, and good and bad, but mixed them together. But ambiguity was captured with a film called "Double Indemnity", at the start there is no good or bad, they neither play definite major or minor keys, but something in-between.

Torn curtain was a film composed by Bernard Herman, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock,
 a great duo, that worked on the film psycho but this film tore them apart because they could not agree on what they wanted, and when Bernard went against Alfred's orders, he fired him. Breaking up the two greatest film makers.

What sound in a film does is create what dialogue cannot, it creates a different motif, a underlying mood, a suspense, sound that matches the action, and if used right it could make or break a film.

"Some think that the best score is the one you never hear, but I think the best one is the one you hear when you need to."

(Neil Brand)

First Recorded Assignment. (Scenario "Only Five Minutes to Save the World")

First Recorded Assignment. (Scenario "Only Five Minutes to Save the World")

This is a joint blog post with  http://coulsdonfilmlauriearnold.blogspot.co.uk/ 

The goal of this project was a to create a 5 minute (or less) film with the scenario of "Only Five Minutes to Save the World" 

It had to meet the criteria of:

• At least 5 shots
• A storyboard
• 30 Mins to film
• No disturbing other classes
• No being killed

Scene 1: The Table Scene

We used this scene to try and introduce the character roles and the event to audiences in a short period of time without having too much exposure, this scene was recorded after 3 rehearsals.

Scene 2: The Stairwell

In this scene the character that is doubting that the apocalypse is happening falls down a stairwell and dies, we did this to create a sense of irony as the character believed all was fine.

 This was filmed after 2 rehearsals.

Scene 3: The Running Scene

In this scene new character is introduced whilst one of the other characters runs off out of the scene, this was done to shock the viewer and to make them wonder where he went.

This scene took 1 rehearsal and had to be recorded quickly because people were walking in and out of the college.

Scene 4: The Falling Scene

This scene was shot quite close and shows one of the characters smoking a cigarette to try and calm his nerves, we also used another cigarette to try and imitate smoke coming out of a hole in the ground.

This scene took 1 rehearsal.

Scene 5: The 'End It' Scene

This scene also used a cigarette to creat the same smoke effect as before but we had to do it quickly as the cigarette was almost out, also this was the only scene filmed without a rehearsal and we didn't really know when to stop recording so that's why at the end the character says 'End it?' but we added a 6th scene to make up for that.

Scene 6: T'was all a dream.

This scene was added last minute just so that it added an extra story element to our film and also so that the parts in the film that were messed up could just be seen as intentional, therefore it made it so the character saying 'End it?' could have been talking to the main character that makes him wake up.

This scene also wasn't rehearsed.

For video links, refer to Laurie Arnolds Blog.

Why I love/hate this film ( 1st Assignment )

Film Studies

Why I like my favourite film

My favourite film has to The Green Mile, I love this film for many reasons, one is the cast. The cast in this film is absolutely superb, it has Tom Hanks, who is one of the most well known actors ever, and also starred in Forest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Toy Story. It also has Michael Clark Duncan who played John Coffey, I find his acting impeccable, he not only creates a scene but can quite capably  make any grown man cry, unlike another acting powerhouse (Arnald Swarztineger). Both of these together make in themselves a brilliant cast, along with the others who all play their parts excellently. Another reason I love this film is because of the script, most of the film is set on a tiny scene which consists of about 8 prison cells and the hallway imbetween, I think this is done so well because of how the characters play out, for example there is;

The Leader, guard (Paul Edgecombe)

The Muscle, guard (Brutus 'brutal' Howell)

The crazy, selfish, stubborn and greedy "fathers son", guard (Dean (percy) Stanton)

The large murderer, with a twist (John Coffey)

The insane real murderer (Wild Bill Wharton)

The Frenchman and his mouse ( Edward Delacroix)

And so on

All of these compose a storyline that I think never gets old.

I think that my least favourite think about this film is that my favourite character dies, but it's what he wanted, and without that ending, the storyline would make no sense.

Even though it hurts to say it, it would not be my favourite film with a different ending.

I also love the last five minuets, where he shows his love ( Paul ) his mouse ( Edward ) and that the reason he is still alive " I think that god was punishing me that day for killing one of his angels".

These reasons are why I love this film.

The next film I am going to review is "Twilight Saga"

Why I dislike my least favourite film.

My least favourite film is Twilight.

I would compare it to another terrible film, but it is that terrible I can't think of anymore, not even one comes close. I can't underestimate how overjoyed I was to hear that they were only producing a trilogy, but also how devastated to know that that my life would be wasted for another four hours or so when it carried on further.

I thought that "Mission Impossible" and "Fast and Furious" went on too long, I was wrong, they could have produced another 20 films before I got sick of them in comparison to Twilight. Let me tell you why...

Firstly the cast is dreadful. To chose the main role as a previous Harry Potter actor was a mistake, but even though I am patriotic, he may WELL be the worst British actor ever. He is dry, tasteless and bland, there is no other way to describe his indecent acting.

Next, we have a woman called Kristen Stewart, how can I describe her? Well, her acting is very similar to the character of "Plank" in "Ed, Edd and Eddy",but even he has more emotions than she does. When she eventually decides that she finally has to show some emotion, such as smiling it reminds me of the smile that "Mr Burns" would pull, as if she has never smiled.

These may be very large contributing factors in the story of my hatred, but I think that they would contribute more if I didn't have to comment on the storyline of the film, and how they had no interesting bits at all.

How they managed to make a love triangle go throughout all their films is beyond me, the woman is pathetic, she could quite easily chose without having to throw herself off a cliff or fall off a bike

 ( although, if it shortened the films, I would be more than happy if she didn't get back up).

As for the people who see the film I'm sure all they could comment on was the love triangle, which like I mentioned was boring and dragged on. ALSO it was very predictable, from the start, in fact, if that's the case, I recon you could watch the first movie and the last and then you wouldn't have to sit through what the writer calls a "middle".

I am displeased to say that I have had the missfortune to sit through and waste several hours in which I could have watched paint dry.

I would happily go on further but I am out of time, and I'm sure I'd run out of paper (In this case, internet and binary) my disgust runs that deep.

01001001 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01110010 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101001 01101100 01101101 00100000 00101101 00110001 00110000 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01100001 00100000 00110001 00101101 00110001 00110000 00100000 01110011 01100011 01100001 01101100 01100101 00001101 00001010
(I would rate this film -10 on a 1-10 scale)