Independent Research Critique

1. Research Question

A) Jason Torres, Research Question, Power through lighting and color in International Cinema. B) Carmen Carrillo, Research Question, Political thrillers. Some would say they provide us with more of the truth than our daily newspapers. They cause upset and leave us wondering what exactly is true, if there is a truth at all. They leave us on the edge of our seat and turn our world upside down with its accusations of political institutions.

2. Areas of focus

A) Lighting and Color

B) mis en cine, dialogue, color

3. Incorporation of sources

A) Jason incorporated quotations from various works consulted into the right column filled with commentary.

B) Carmen used her consulted works for general background on her movies and production processes.

Animated movie

Area of Interest:
Analysing the theme of alienation in Animated films. I will be looking at films from Japan and films from the USA.

Question: How is alienation is used in animated films in the USA and Japan developing the protagonists acceptance into society?

Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away. Japan
Katsuhiro Otomo, Steam Boy. Japan

Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, Beauty and the Beast. USA
Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan. USA

Areas of Focus:
Visual Imagery (colors, etc), cinematography (ex. wide empty shots showing isolation), and Mis en Scene

In Spirited Away a girl named Chichiro loses her parents and tries to get them back forcing her to take refuge in a bath house for the spirits. Steam Boy focuses on a boy whose father goes off to work in another country and leaves the boy by himself with his mother. Mulan is based on a girl named Mulan who is alienated because she is a girl wanting to join the military where men are only allowed, but she goes against the social norms and eventually becomes accepted by society. The Beauty and the Beast is a movie based upon a man cursed having beastly qualities superficially representing his inner personality, this isolates him from the world until he meets a special someone.

Music to my feet

Log line: A boy who is constantly moving from school to school is distant from those around him finding salvation through music in the beat at which people walk to, he finds a girl falls in love and has to beat another boy to her.

Treatment:

Voice over occurs of Boy named James who has been moving from school to school twice a year since he was 10. Voice over," My name is James and my life was never easy for me, everyone I meet always seem to pass by almost as though they were a blur" "Music is the way everyone appears to me beats specifically to me, my image of them fades like the end of a song on an ipod on to the next one". Basically a boy named james loves to listen to music and the subtle patterns in the background of songs. Everything James does is intertwined with musical beats which he expresses most frequently with individuals walking around school. When he is in class James uses his pencil to create a beat for each person as they walk by. Then as James is walking around school he sees a girl who he can't figure out a beat to. James has to meet her and right as he is about to go up to her another boy named Adam apears and starts talking to her. Flash back to the beginning of the semester he meets a boy named Adam who tries to make friends with him yet James just sees him as another boring kid and blows him off by just walking away. Adam becomes James archrival from that point on always trying to beat him like beating him to the classroom or first one to finish his test. James wants Rosy and stalks her, Eventually he finds her singing a song, which is the basis behing her beat and he uses that romantically playing it to make her fall in love. James in the end asks her out beating Adam.

Narrative:

The sound of the people around James will be specifically conveyed in their footsteps. Sound will be the basis behind the reader discovering who James is a person, (he is constantly seeking the unordinary/different beat), music of his soul, essentially something he cannot comprehend. The setting will be at a school and the conflict will be finding out the beat of the girl Rosy to whom he is fascinated at understanding. Dialogue will be used in the beginning of the film to set up the background of James constantly moving from school to school differentiating and defining people as musical steps as they walk. Voice over of James as the character in the beginning.

Production elements:
Sound bridges will be used when coming from the dialogue into the musical beat of individuals steps. rhythmic matches will be used in the beginning of the film when james is describing himself stating music as his one constant in his life. A specific beat will be produced with Rosy (leitmotif) to convey her unique beat to the audience and the character James seperating her from the others. Foley sounds will be incorporated expressively when steps are being examined by the main character James. Liet motif will also be used for Adam in an evil sounding way.

Hurt Locker

1. The movie "The Hurt Locker" by Kathryn Bigelow is about a small team of soldiers who difuse bombs during the Iraq war. The movie not only immerges the audience into the world of the characters, but depicts the trials and tribulations that soldiers undergo in war on a regular basis. The film details the unique perspective of a man by the name James William who is a bomb diffuser with lackluster methods of working with his team mates and care for his own life. This idea of a mysterious character in the film adds to the fantastic characterization of those around him and makes this film one of my favorites. Overall I thought that the movie was exhilarating in the encompassment of shots and depictions of soldiers lives in Iraq.

2. The film takes place in Jordan, Iraq about an (eod) team or explosive ordnance disposal team (USA). The individual who came up with the script was Mark Boal who was a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb squad team. This movie especially details the troubles of war on the physch of the American soldier and the day to day struggle depicted in maintaining ones composure on the battle field. The story line has the theme of survival and personifies in the characters this idea of the possibility of dieing everyday. Also, another theme is loss of innocence personified in the specialist who has to clean the blood off of the .50 caliber bullets when under sniper fire. Then in the opening scene with the explosion and death of a bomb squad member tensions are immediately felt by the audience and the immersion into the story begins.

3. The visual design of the piece was interesting in the depiction of the background housing and city life providing a clear picture of what it would be like to be in Iraq. The actors Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty all played their parts excellently. The uniforms and the natural environment that the soldiers were put in all helped make the piece realistic and undoubtly amazing. One costume was the bomb suit, which played a crucial role in identifying certain characters and there personal ideals connoted with the suit. The production design looked very thorough throughout the film and everything seemed well organized and expertly shot of course, yet the shots in this movie were exceptionally good. The wide shots with the foreground, midground and background created great depth in the environment and each individual situation whether good or bad that the soldiers were placed in.

4. The style of cinematography was extremely realistic throughout the entire movie and is shown in a lot of the action scenes with character eyeline match and cause and effect shots with the explosions and the consequences. The typical camera shots are wide, extreme closeups medium shots and long shots. Also first person shots were used in the beginning with the insurgent typing in a phone number to the bomb. Throughout the film the shots all have the a dusky coloring that creates this middle eastern vibe that adds to the realism and evironmental factor that occurs with this piece. Also images connote certain issues or past disturbances like that of a burned rusted car in the middle of the street. Throughout the piece the light was consitent during the day and even the darkeness was consistent at night. The use of color correction was prominent throughout this film especially in the sniper scene where an orange hue was used over the piece to represent the setting sun as the characters look and wait to see if there are any remaining snipers still alive.

5. The editing style of the piece has a lot to do with cause and effect, where character actions are shown leading up to the piece and the individuals commiting the actions beside that of the main character are placed in first person perspectives. The editing style was so interesting especially in the opening scenes where the manipulation of the speed of the explosion could be seen in the car the dirt vibrating as the explosion is happening. The length of cuts throughout the film seemed to be a mixture between short and long where the amount of time placed on a single shot was determined by the importance and the significance desired by the director to convey an overall message to the film. No flashbacks were used throughout the film, only the present time was shown adding to the realistic aspect of the environment and plots occuring throughout the movie. The use of flashbacks deters the film away from the realistic aspect for me because of that idea of recreating past events. Also the use of a montage of sequence shots in the beginning with the first explosion really conveyed the overall message of the film and the preceding experiences that the characters will have to deal with, including death and ofcourse bombs and the effects mentally and physically.

6. The style of the movie follows the theme of tension and complete immersion of the audience into the life of a soldier and especially the life of a bomb squad member. There are many symbolic elements incorporated into the film as well which add to the overall effect, especially that of security and peace of mind. Most of the scenes have the consistent flow of the following scenes before it. However, in scenes that portray the "enemy" an eyeline match and a close up of the "enemies" eye is used and a first person perspective.

7. The narrative structure of the film deals with the portrayal of the three characters lives throughout the film and their tribulations of being in a bomb squad. The use of sarcasm to show characterization when difusing a bomb and the unconventional nature of acting and doing his "job" are all portrayed throughout the film. William James who is the unconventional bomb difuser, warps the plot around this idea of no fear. This character also helps develop the other characters as well and the theme of Death and how to go about with loss. The use of humor for the character James was ideal in portraying a mysterious character who's morals and character traits were so unconventional to that of the typical individual.

8. The genre of the piece is a documentary and is one of the few movies to to pull off the idea of being a documentary, yet diverges to that of a war movie. However, war does not neccessarily encompasse this movie because the movie focuses a lot on character developement, which is why it is considered a documentary. The idea of focusing on James william to me is the ideal character surrounded by mystery and motives for his actions, which make the film extremely fun to watch over and over again being the 8th time that I have seen this Movie.

9. Overall I thought that the film was really good and loved the character developement of James William throughout the film and the idea of him being the crazy careless hero of the entire film. It's also Ironical to say that he has saved those with him by being as crazy as he is and as careless. Overall the film was a success and I really enjoyed watching the different perspectives that the film gave me on shots and character developement through certain shots and concepts. I think that we should watch a movie like this again....

Preproduction: Film Going to state

Pre production

Aim: To show the struggles of being a runner, injuries, and daily training.

Contact: Aaron Jones (Aka: super runner) Is going to state to compete after making it through CCS.

Interview questions: How has running shaped your lifestyle and your experiences as an individual?
What have you accomplished as a runner, that you are proud of.?
What experiences have made you desire to go into cross country? Family lineage perhaps?
How do you prepare for a race?
What do you clear in your mind or what do you do mentally to prepare for the race?
When you run how do you feel, does it relieve stress, what do you feel?
This is the last race of your senior year how do you feel?

General flow:

The beginning we will build Aaron’s character as being a relaxed individual, sort of the average joe, yet when it comes to running he does things that make him unique. Show the change in persona of Aaron on race day. Also show the injury that he has been coping with and the precautions that he has to deal with. Then we will show him after the race and show his emotions and how he feels he did?

Shot list:

Close ups of Aaron along with background to show his environment . I will get shots of him training for the race practicing. Photos from the year’s cross country program along with times. B-roll of running will be used. use voice over the piece. on pictures.

script:

Basically the entire piece will Aaron talking and the only text will be used to establish context on Aaron , like general things like his age and location (San Bruno) . Also where the race will be held.
Opening: motion opener, Establishing Aaron as the main focus of our topic and the central theme of our film as documenting Aaron’s life as a runner.

Closing:

Will finish with Aaron’s final words on how he felt he did this year and his opinion on that race being his last, or just the beginning.

Short documentary blog post: True life I'm rehabing my injury

1. Narrative theme

The narrative theme of True life: I'm rehabbing my injury, focuses on the build up and characterization of the individuals being focused on in the Topic selected. It also focuses upon the different individuals dilemas presented to them, from the typical way of life. The narration in this show is limited to that of the individuals themselves and text giving a little background (etc location). Also the series focuses on this idea of experiencing the problems of another individual and essentially the experience that comes with seeing anothers way of life. Narrative themes are usually incorporated throughout the show and some themes being Fallin

2. Camera work

The camera work is all handheld, which allows more versality on the shots that encompass the short film. Also camera shots are used to portray the actions and also character emotions. Emotions by the snapshot to the left showing Mason rehabbing from a torn ligament and the use of such a low camera shot to me conveyed the emotion he was feeling, depicting him as reaching an all time low in accomplishing his dream and his career as a basketball player. Also the camera work is used to depict the struggles of the individuals being focused on in the film.

3. Editing and sound design

Throughout the film, it seems as though the camera man or director asks questions to the individuals to give an in depth view of the person and then the question is edited out of the film

it creates the illlusion of the people talking about themselves. This tactic also provides good commentary on the part of the individuals and flows well. Also in the editing the inclusion of photos allow background for the people being followed. Most of the photos used in this episode of true life, characterize the individuals as being "dedicated" by which their lives revolve around sports even when they were little. This also provides a certain atmosphere by including photos in the edit creating tension and an "all or nothing" mentality from these people, that is seen only in a minute of film. Also there was no sound design well at least throughout the entire show. This creates tension and also allows the individuals to create the mood for the audience rather than the music which is played in the background. This concept of having no music allows a very biographical mood in the show rather than a cheesy reality T.V. show. Looking back at the idea of Music being almost nonexistent gives great insight into the production and conveying of messages feelings to the audience.

Baraka Film blog

The film Baraka was awe inspiring in the shots alone and the symbolic interpretations that I saw in numerous shots taken. With pun intended, the first shot of this film was better than anything I had ever done in film class, either that symbolizes my work ethic or the extremely high level of shot execution and geographic exhibition of nature that this film displayed. I think it is the extremely difficult shots that supposedly took 13 months to take and traveling to 24 countries. The idea of nature being awe inspiring has always had that effect upon me, however the scale of this films awe registered an 11 out of 10. 12 out of 10 is awarded if i actually get to go to any of these places displayed in the film. This concept of Awe inspiring to me is different to relatively every person. The indigenous of these places who are used to such cultural environments would see our civilization and be completely awe struck as i am merely witnessing their own cultures and environments. So, alien their "world's" seem that I have been inspired to travel, to my hearts content until witnessing with my own eyes, these places of beauty. (opinion).

This mountain shot alone is something for the beginning of a mythical movie,...ahem (lord of the rings) perhaps or maybe something in a nature magazine never known to exist to the typical suburban kid. These shots have meaning in their brilliance and shot difficulty, yet the story line of this movie is still unclear. A possible reason is that we did not watch the entire film, thus an interweaved idea in the film from the beginning to the end could not have been percieved. However,

I can see the prevalence of the idea of cultural experience and diversity in differing countries around the world. Thus, I have concluded that the idea of this film was to inform the individual of such differing cultural experiences, so as to shock the individual watching the film as well as opening their minds to the possibilities. From most of these shots a feeling of detachement can be felt as though you are an omniscient being observing the people of these countries and these cultures as though you are supposed to pass judgement upon the orthodox or the ordain objects and methods from our own society.

This is a rock garden in kyoto Japan, intriguing to me in its shape and its paterns as well as its methods of creating such "art" or cultural distinction. This film shows views being shattered through out the world. The shots are often wide mixed with close ups, but there is no shot displaying something insignificant. Shots often have foreground, midground and background giving such depth to shots that it's ability to make your jaw drop unprecedented in society today.
these shots also have music associated with them, though my memory is enriched by the depth of each shots beauty. The sense I felt when listening to the music was that of natural connotations of music in such environments, which enable the feeling of being apart of something much more than yourself. This idea of peace and unorthodox ways of using natural music in my suburban lifestyle suprised me. Though the suprise is associated with the beauty of the shots and the atmosphere surrounding the cultures and natural music that enhances them.