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.