Blog #5 Music Blog

Title: North By Northwest
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Music Title: Prelude

I chose this musical piece because it is a good way to start off this film.  The music is full of suspense and the rhythm is quick just like the fast paced New York lifestyle shown.  The music affected me by making me wonder what is ahead in this film.  During the clip you see skyscrapers and people filled in the streets rushing to their destinations.  It made me wonder what is the rush and what is this film going to be about?  I believe this musical piece was effective because this film is suspenseful just like the music.

Title: Punch Drunk Love
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Music Title: He Needs Me (remix)

During this musical piece Lena is walking fast toward Barry, Barry extends out his arm but Lena gives him a hug and they embrace and kiss.  You can see people walking by quickly while they embrace, in a way it shows that they are enjoying that moment and time has stopped for them but not for everyone else.  The music goes great with this scene because it is awkward just like these two characters.  Barry tells Lena he is in Hawaii on business but he's really there to see her.  The music effected me with its words "he needs me" because Barry does need Lena, they both like each other but don't know how to go about it.  The music was successful because it was a cute song for the quirky kinda weird characters, Barry and Lena.

Title: The Godfather
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Music Title: Waltz (Sicilian)

In the beginning of the film clip you hear crickets, which to me means its early morning.  Then the music begins, which is the reason I chose this film clip.  That music makes me think of the Godfather films, I love the way it sounds soft but tragic.  In this clip Jack Waltz wakes up to find the head of his prized stallions in his bed.  The music is successful in this clip because it makes you feel like that's what happens when you refuse a deal with the godfather.  The music also speeds up when the character Jack realizes there's blood on his bed then the pace continues to speed up and makes you wonder what is under the sheets.  The music stops when he sees it's his stallion and you hear him yelling.  Very effective music for this great film.

Title: Hairspray
Director: Adam Shankman
Music Title: You Can't Stop The Beat

I chose this musical piece because I love this film.  It's a musical and I am not a fan of musicals at all but the music in this film makes me love this movie.  The musical piece I chose was the last song "You Can't Stop The Beat" it gives all the main characters a time to shine.  I like how the music is upbeat and makes you want to dance.  The music in this piece is successful and effective because it goes with the film which is crossing boundaries.  Doesn't matter what size or color you are music and dancing tears down those walls.

http://youtu.be/MGKXXJQCX3chttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGKXXJQCX3c&feature=player_detailpage

Tim Burton interviewed on The Treatment

Tim Burton is a film director, producer, writer and artist.  Some of the films he is known for is Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, and, The Nightmare Before Christmas.  During his interview with Elvis Mitchell on The Treatment, which aired February 20, 2013 he talks about his latest film Frankenweenie.

Tim Burton is someone I admire in the film industry.  I love the creativity of his films especially the characters.  During the interview Burton mentions how he grew up by a cemetery which to him was normal.  He didn’t view the cemetery as scary or creepy like others do.  Another interesting fact he mentioned about his childhood and growing up was that he flinched at hugs.  He didn’t grow up in a home that showed much emotion and that went into his characters, specifically Edward Scissorhands.

One of the questions Tim Burton gets asked a lot is which character he identifies with.  In The Treatment he states, “I try to identify with a lot of characters, Scissorhands, Ed Wood or whatever.  Those are all true but I definitely identify with Sweeney Todd as well, there’s something about his interior nature and yes and no answers.”  Many directors identify with characters in their film, with Tim Burton there’s a dark mysterious side to him which reflects in his films and art.  I believe this quote is noteworthy because like he mentioned it’s a question that many people want to know.

In the film Frankenweenie Tim Burton made it in black and white.  He states, If you deprive people of let’s say color, other emotions kind of come out stronger you know you get something and that’s what I felt.”  Making Frankenweenie in black and white it gave the feel for the movie or emotion like Tim Burton mentioned.  Frankenweenie is about a boy who brings his dog Sparky back to life.  I believe this quote is noteworthy because in many of Tim Burton’s films there’s a darkness to them, but not in a scary way.  For example in his film Edward Scissorhands the character is dressed in all black but he is very gentle and timid.  Also in the film The Nightmare Before Christmas the film is in color but not bright color.

Tim Burton has been seen as someone different in the film industry when it comes to style.  He mentions, “When you’re perceived as something different you’re always trying to kind of explain your way into the normal world I guess in some way…  people start labeling you as somebody strange or weird, you sort of give up and go ok well if that’s what you think then it became sort of a liberation.”  Tim Burton’s films are different; when you view one of his films you know the characters are going to be unique as well as the film.  This quote is noteworthy because I believe this attitude has a lot to do with Tim Burton’s success.  By him being ok with being viewed as weird in a sense, he’s able to do his work freely without caring what others say.

I learned a lot of about Tim Burton’s style in this interview.  As well as where he gets some of the ideas for his films.  Tim Burton contributes a lot of creativity in the film world with his great talent.

             

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" Checklist

Overall Look
The film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is about Jean-Dominique Bauby, who after having a stroke ended up with a condition called locked in syndrome.  Although this film was in french, and I wasn't able to view the film with subtitles, from what I viewed Julian Schnabel did a great job with all the cinematographic aspects.  By the different camera angles, lighting, framing, and camera movement used I was able to view the film as though I was in Bauby's shoes.
Images
In the film there was the use of images that seemed to be flashbacks that Bauby had.  In the beginning of the film there was images of a little boy, at first I had the impression it was Bauby but as the film went on I realized it was Bauby's son.  There was also another image that kept coming up in the film which was a deep sea diver.  From what I seen the deep sea diver was how Bauby depicted himself because of his condition.  He was like a deep sea diver stuck underwater without the ability to help himself or being helped.  With locked in syndrome an individual is conscious but is totally paralyzed with the exception of having the ability to move their eyes.
Shot Lengths
During the film I noticed the use of long shots which to me gave me a feel of what it was like to have locked in syndrome.  For example the scenes where the nurses would communicate with him, that would be a long process having to repeat letters, wait for him to blink, until he spelled out a word.  At times though those long shots would be interrupted by visions or the images of his family, the diver, or different memories.
Camera Angles
In the beginning of the film the two camera angles I noticed right away was low angle and oblique angle.  With low angle shots the viewer is supposed to get the feel of something powerful or threatening, like whatever the character is viewing is something superior.  In the film the medical staff had a lot to do with Bauby's care to him they were in a way powerful because he was in a helpless state.  During those low angle shots you got to see close ups and extreme close ups of whoever was talking to Bauby, for example the medical staff and also visitors.  It gave you more of a connection to the character, like if you were viewing the film through Bauby's eyes.  An example of an extreme close up was when one of the Dr.'s had to sew his eye shut, you visualized the procedure as though it were your eye being sewn shut.With oblique shots it represents that something strange is going on.  The strange incidents were Bauby getting used to his new condition and state of not being able to move, which was completely different from the life he lived before.
Composition
During what seemed to be the last half of the film there was parts of the film that were balanced and we got to view the film by third person.  There was still much part of the film that used Bauby's point of view, which gave the viewer the ability to still be able to relate to Bauby.  For example in the scene where Bauby is at the beach with his children.
Camera Movement
The camera movement of the film was shaky at times, which again showed that the story was being told through Bauby's eyes.  In the beginning of the film the camera movement was shaky and blurry which showed that Bauby was coming out of a coma and was trying to focus on his surroundings.
Cinematography Style
The cinematography style of this film was intentional.  Bauby viewed and communicated to the world with his left eye and that is how the viewer viewed most of the film.  It made you sympathize with the character and feel what he was feeling as well because we had the ability to hear him speak when the outside world couldn't.

Blog Post #3

I chose a quote from director Abraham Polonsky to describe film noir.  He said, "A certain kind of hard film full of difficult emotional things and explosions of emotional drama and anxiety."  That description also describes the movie Double Indemnity.  In this film Walter was living a normal life as an insurance rep until he met and fell for Phyllis.  He developed emotions for her quickly and the roller coaster ride of emotions, drama, and suspense come in.  From Walter and Phyllis murdering her husband, to Walter finding out Phyllis is also seeing someone else, then to him murdering Phyllis.
In Double Indemnity Phyllis is a femme fatale.  One type of femme fatale described in the documentary Film Noir is the "spider woman."  The actress Marie Windsor put it simply she said, "the classic femme fatale to me is a woman that's usually getting the man into bed, then into trouble".  In Double Indemnity that is exactly what Phylllis did.  When her and Walter met Phyllis was portrayed as a sexy character, she met him for the first time in a towel.  I believe she is a typical femme fatale because she was a sexual character who never loved Walter but just used him for her own advantage.
In the beginning of the film when Walter is confessing on the dictaphone the lighting and confession show film noir.  He is alone in a dark room with low key lighting and the camara is focused on him.  In the film the choice of music also indicates film noir.  For example the diegenic sound coming from the radio in the "About that Ankle" clip we had to watch gives the feel of the film noir style.  Walter comes in as a dark shadow then comes into the light.
Neo-noir is like film noir except modernized in color.  Both film types have a lot of the same elements, they can have a femme fatale, they can have the same theme, and ideas.  In Memento it has color and also black and white.  It begins with a film noir feel, a man is shown shot in the head so right there it indicates drama and violence that film noir has.

Blog Post #1 Film Criteria

My criteria for an award winning movie would be a movie that keeps me watching and wondering what's going to happen next.  The components to that would be the acting, the setting, and just the way the story and plot progresses.  When it comes to the actors it's important when they become the character and you can't tell that they're acting.  In the setting I like to see that the scenery and costumes go with the main idea of the movie.  For example if it's a mob movie I expect to see the typical settings like the characters wearing fancy suits, the scenery to have the classic cars and so on.
The movies that I viewed in week one met some of my criteria.  What I liked best from the film A Trip to the Moon, was the acting.  Even though there was no sound you could tell what was going on in the film by watching the actor’s body language.  In the beginning of the film the actors pointed toward the sky so you knew they were planning a trip to the moon, another instance is when they landed on the moon you knew they were going to sleep because they stretched out their arms showing they were tired.  In the film The Great Train Robbery, I also liked the acting.  There was a lot of action in the film I enjoyed watching the fighting scenes.  The shootout scene at the end was great, I like how you could see the smoke coming out from the guns.
The two films that meet my criteria would be James Cameron's Avatar and Mel Gibson's Apocalypto.  What I love about both those movies is that they're unique.  In the movie Avatar I loved how the actors got into their characters, even speaking the Na'vi language.  The visual effects in the movie were awesome, everything about the film settings were incredible.  I liked the creativeness of the movie the different animals, all the details of the forest, and the war vessels.  I loved the story and the plot of the movie.  The movie Apocalypto had all those same elements that I loved in Avatar.  It was also a great movie I loved the costumes the Mayan characters had.  I also loved the story and plot in this film.  Those are two movies that meet my movie watching criteria.

http://youtu.be/hL4iOpyZEIw 

My Interest in Film

When it comes to watching films, I’m one of those people you mentioned that usually watch a movie with someone else.  I’m not much of a movie person anymore; I don’t look forward to any movies out there unless it catches my attention.  When I was in high school I loved horror films.  Not the bloody gory ones though, but movies like the Exorcist, Amityville Horror, the Sixth Sense, and one of my favorites The Others.  I liked the thrill of being scared, especially when the creepy music is playing and you know something horrifying is about to pop out of somewhere, and when it does it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  That’s the kind of scary I like, when even after the movie is over you just have to turn on every light in the house.  To me those movies were fun to watch.

Now I am a mother of two and am too busy to sit and watch a movie at home.  I really don’t have the opportunity to watch scary movies anymore because my kids would have nightmares.  I do enjoy taking my kids to the theater every now and then.  The last film we went to go see was Disney’s Frozen.  Now the kids are in charge of the television so if there is a movie on at home, it’s a children’s movie.