AS Film Studies has come to a finish! I've really enjoyed the first year. I feel the exam went really well, I cannot watch any form of media without analysing it.
I am happy we created something completely different from my piece for Media. I felt the whole experience was good for me, as I have never been the actress for a film before. I definately prefer being behind the camera, but I am happy with our final piece.
I cannot wait for next year.
I have enjoyed looking at American and British films, but World Cinema is where my passion lays.
This blog is now closed.
Thursday 23 April 2009
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Reflective Analysis
For this piece of coursework I worked in a group with three of my colleagues: George, Jake and Callum. Our initial idea was to make a piece of film exploring OCD. The obsessive theme intrigued us; we wanted to create something obscure. Once we established this concept, we studied the subject OCD. On the internet Jake found several articles on other people’s compulsions and weird behaviour. I also thought it would be a good idea to look at how the media interprets OCD. I found a two minute clip from Grey’s Anatomy portraying a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder. It was a slightly over exaggerated portrayal. The media tend to exaggerate everything; I did not want to make an over the top piece of film about someone with OCD.
After much discussion, the OCD concept then developed into this idea of focusing on me and my sketchbook. Once we had this idea, we discussed our film inspirations. Callum mentioned the film Requiem for a Dream and the notion of repetition was brought up. We agreed this would be an excellent way of paying homage to the film. I also thought it would do well in depicting the mindset of the character we wish to portray.The next thing we needed was a title for the film. At this stage we lacked creativity, and were just looking for a temporary title. Again, said in jest someone suggested the title Work Tara Work. Although it sounded like a cheap parody of the German film Run Lola Run, we actually quite liked it.
We were then told to take on a role. Of course, I was going to take on a role of performer. As we did not use much dialogue, I improvised on certain things such as: body language and positioning. I found this part of the production really interesting. We all got along, and we used everyone’s ideas and contributions. Callum took on the role of the editor; Jake directed the film and George worked as the assistant cameraman. We filmed over the course of two days.
For both of those days Jake and I were there. Together the three of us planned and set up the mise-en-scene. We filmed most of the establishing shots on the first day for continuity reasons. This way we would only have to get close-ups and less important shots the following day. The filming took place in an art room. I thought this would be the ideal place to film. It was a messy art room. I thought this was a good idea, and showed connotations of frantic behaviour. Jake placed magazines all over the tables, and threw pencils everywhere. The guillotine was placed at the end of the table and was angled slightly to the left. It was looking brilliant. To complete the setting my sketchbook was placed directly in front of my chair: portraying myself as untidy yet hard-working. Several tracking shots took place that day. We did many panning shots from several different angles. I really like establishing shots, they are important as they show the audience my surroundings. They get a chance to see my working environment and this helps build up an impression of the character. During the filming process, on both days we used a broadcast camera. The camera remained on the tripod for most of the filming. I, myself am not a fan of hand-held camera work. Whilst Jake was filming, he suggested we at least try it. Jake managed to get some good footage hand-held. When shooting point of view shots, the camera was not on the tripod.
On the second day it was George, Jake and I. This is where the close-ups took place. When one was filming,
I directed the other to photograph the filming process. This time round, everything was done handheld allowing the camera to get as close as possible. I usually detest close-ups, but as the focus was on other body parts such as my hand and mouth I didn’t mind as much. To pay homage to Requiem we filmed a series of extreme close-ups such as: masking tape being pulled out from the roll, tip of pencil lead snapping. We recorded these things over and over again. So we had more than enough footage and got used them more than once and in different places. When filming the close-ups, we also captured sound. Sound is a very important part of our short film. To create tension, in post-production we planned to over exaggerate the noises. When it came to editing we had over seventeen minutes of footage. Once we established the opening sequence and the narrative structure it was fairly straight forward from there.
The editing process was a long, overwhelming yet rewarding journey. When working in a group, there is always going to be disagreements. After many disagreements, we managed to put all our sequences together and create Work Tara Work.
After much discussion, the OCD concept then developed into this idea of focusing on me and my sketchbook. Once we had this idea, we discussed our film inspirations. Callum mentioned the film Requiem for a Dream and the notion of repetition was brought up. We agreed this would be an excellent way of paying homage to the film. I also thought it would do well in depicting the mindset of the character we wish to portray.The next thing we needed was a title for the film. At this stage we lacked creativity, and were just looking for a temporary title. Again, said in jest someone suggested the title Work Tara Work. Although it sounded like a cheap parody of the German film Run Lola Run, we actually quite liked it.
We were then told to take on a role. Of course, I was going to take on a role of performer. As we did not use much dialogue, I improvised on certain things such as: body language and positioning. I found this part of the production really interesting. We all got along, and we used everyone’s ideas and contributions. Callum took on the role of the editor; Jake directed the film and George worked as the assistant cameraman. We filmed over the course of two days.
For both of those days Jake and I were there. Together the three of us planned and set up the mise-en-scene. We filmed most of the establishing shots on the first day for continuity reasons. This way we would only have to get close-ups and less important shots the following day. The filming took place in an art room. I thought this would be the ideal place to film. It was a messy art room. I thought this was a good idea, and showed connotations of frantic behaviour. Jake placed magazines all over the tables, and threw pencils everywhere. The guillotine was placed at the end of the table and was angled slightly to the left. It was looking brilliant. To complete the setting my sketchbook was placed directly in front of my chair: portraying myself as untidy yet hard-working. Several tracking shots took place that day. We did many panning shots from several different angles. I really like establishing shots, they are important as they show the audience my surroundings. They get a chance to see my working environment and this helps build up an impression of the character. During the filming process, on both days we used a broadcast camera. The camera remained on the tripod for most of the filming. I, myself am not a fan of hand-held camera work. Whilst Jake was filming, he suggested we at least try it. Jake managed to get some good footage hand-held. When shooting point of view shots, the camera was not on the tripod. On the second day it was George, Jake and I. This is where the close-ups took place. When one was filming,
I directed the other to photograph the filming process. This time round, everything was done handheld allowing the camera to get as close as possible. I usually detest close-ups, but as the focus was on other body parts such as my hand and mouth I didn’t mind as much. To pay homage to Requiem we filmed a series of extreme close-ups such as: masking tape being pulled out from the roll, tip of pencil lead snapping. We recorded these things over and over again. So we had more than enough footage and got used them more than once and in different places. When filming the close-ups, we also captured sound. Sound is a very important part of our short film. To create tension, in post-production we planned to over exaggerate the noises. When it came to editing we had over seventeen minutes of footage. Once we established the opening sequence and the narrative structure it was fairly straight forward from there.The editing process was a long, overwhelming yet rewarding journey. When working in a group, there is always going to be disagreements. After many disagreements, we managed to put all our sequences together and create Work Tara Work.
Sunday 19 April 2009
Hey, even the Mona Lisa's falling apart
Discuss some of the similarities + differences between the two films you have studied for this topic with particular reference to narrative and genre features
Both films, American Beauty and Fight Club share similar messages that they seek to communicate. They were both made in 1999 and share some similarities. Visually they are both completely different interestingly enough. Fight Club uses edgy, fast editing techniques. It was perceived as ground-breaking for its visual style in cinema. Whereas American Beauty does not use high-tech editing technique but it still beautifully cut together. Both films were described as the ‘most talked film of its time’.
Throughout the film there are several references and subtle digs at the American Dream. By doing this the audience learn that both directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and David Fincher (Fight Club) are very cynical when it comes to the ideologies of The American Dream. It isn’t hard to see that the directors do not agree with the ideologies that constantly surround us. The director’s thoughts on the Dream are represented through key elements such as narrative structure and the characters. For example for me Fight Club’s Tyler Durden is the voice of the director, David Fincher. It is quotes such as: “Right. We are consumers. We’re the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession” and “Hey, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart” which stand out for me. There are several moments throughout the film where I feel David Fincher is making a connection with the audience through the character. When Tyler says things like: “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear” I feel Fincher is angry with what the world has become.
I feel that Sam Medes does the same in American Beauty through the protagonist Lester Burnham. There is a scene in which Lester comes onto Carolyn and instead of giving into temptation she tells him to stop as he is going to spill beer on the sofa. When Lester argues that is it just a sofa, Carolyn screams: “This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk”. It is this next line where the voice of Mendes is present. “This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts. It seems to me that Fincher and Mendes share the same opinions.
Another thing both films have in common are the themes that they both play on. The films challenge pro-consumerism through their protagonists. Both American Beauty and Fight Club feature a wide selection of characters all different in their own little way. To me, each character has something unique about them considering how dominated they are by stereotypes. When it comes to their personal values the characters are not all that different from each other. They both feature characters rooting for different sides. In American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham and Jack are everything the American Dream stands for. They rely on the pro-consumerist ideologies to fulfill mental happiness. Whereas other protagonists such as Lester Burnham and Jack’s alter ego Tyler Durden live for something more meaningful. The two protagonists in both films are very similar from one another. Fight Club's Tyler Durden and American Beauty's Lester Burnham are both on a quest for physical embodiment. They struggle with masculinity and live joyless lives. They constantly seek happiness but they do so in a different way in which Carolyn and Tyler Durden do. I feel that both films deeply play on the idea of different stereotypes.
Fincher’s characters are a combination of stereotypes and facts. One in seventeen Americans (about six percent of the population) suffers from sever mental illness. Fight Club’s protagonist Jack is a prime example of this. It can be argued that he does not suffer from a metal illness. He actually suffers from insomnia which is a symptom not a disease. The fact that he imagine an alter-ego shows the audience that he is not all there.
Both films explore the theme voyeurism, particularly American Beauty as its tagline is 'look closer'. Again, this theme is explored through the character's actions. The audience forever sees Brad Pitt's character walking around in the fight scenes. He is a critical observer and this also emphasizes his strength as a character. American Beauty's Ricky Fitts is also an observer in a more obvious way. Fitts is never seen without his camera. He documents things he finds beautiful throughout the film. To some extent he is similar to Lester and Tyler as he also lives for the more important things. He is constantly picking up on the smaller, more important things such as Janey's expressions. Disfunctionality plays a big part in both films. I feel every character in both films embody this one way or another. For example American Beauty's Jane craves human contact and some sort of a relationship with her father. On the other hand Marla craves sexual contact in order to feel better about herself. Marla (Fight Club) and Jane are different, fresh representations of females. They challenge the hegemonic values of feminity and beauty. The two of them do not fit in anywhere; this is enlightening to see characters that are not a walking stereotype. Although it could be argued that they are the ‘misfit’ stereotype.Fight Club and American Beauty both immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative and a voice-over. They also both begin at the end of the film, challenging usual narrative convention. The two films feature homoerotic overtones and to some extent can fall under the black comedy genre. These overtones make the audience uncomfortable and thereby keep them from anticipating the twist ending.
Both films, American Beauty and Fight Club share similar messages that they seek to communicate. They were both made in 1999 and share some similarities. Visually they are both completely different interestingly enough. Fight Club uses edgy, fast editing techniques. It was perceived as ground-breaking for its visual style in cinema. Whereas American Beauty does not use high-tech editing technique but it still beautifully cut together. Both films were described as the ‘most talked film of its time’.
Throughout the film there are several references and subtle digs at the American Dream. By doing this the audience learn that both directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and David Fincher (Fight Club) are very cynical when it comes to the ideologies of The American Dream. It isn’t hard to see that the directors do not agree with the ideologies that constantly surround us. The director’s thoughts on the Dream are represented through key elements such as narrative structure and the characters. For example for me Fight Club’s Tyler Durden is the voice of the director, David Fincher. It is quotes such as: “Right. We are consumers. We’re the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession” and “Hey, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart” which stand out for me. There are several moments throughout the film where I feel David Fincher is making a connection with the audience through the character. When Tyler says things like: “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear” I feel Fincher is angry with what the world has become.
I feel that Sam Medes does the same in American Beauty through the protagonist Lester Burnham. There is a scene in which Lester comes onto Carolyn and instead of giving into temptation she tells him to stop as he is going to spill beer on the sofa. When Lester argues that is it just a sofa, Carolyn screams: “This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk”. It is this next line where the voice of Mendes is present. “This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts. It seems to me that Fincher and Mendes share the same opinions.
Another thing both films have in common are the themes that they both play on. The films challenge pro-consumerism through their protagonists. Both American Beauty and Fight Club feature a wide selection of characters all different in their own little way. To me, each character has something unique about them considering how dominated they are by stereotypes. When it comes to their personal values the characters are not all that different from each other. They both feature characters rooting for different sides. In American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham and Jack are everything the American Dream stands for. They rely on the pro-consumerist ideologies to fulfill mental happiness. Whereas other protagonists such as Lester Burnham and Jack’s alter ego Tyler Durden live for something more meaningful. The two protagonists in both films are very similar from one another. Fight Club's Tyler Durden and American Beauty's Lester Burnham are both on a quest for physical embodiment. They struggle with masculinity and live joyless lives. They constantly seek happiness but they do so in a different way in which Carolyn and Tyler Durden do. I feel that both films deeply play on the idea of different stereotypes.
Fincher’s characters are a combination of stereotypes and facts. One in seventeen Americans (about six percent of the population) suffers from sever mental illness. Fight Club’s protagonist Jack is a prime example of this. It can be argued that he does not suffer from a metal illness. He actually suffers from insomnia which is a symptom not a disease. The fact that he imagine an alter-ego shows the audience that he is not all there.
Both films explore the theme voyeurism, particularly American Beauty as its tagline is 'look closer'. Again, this theme is explored through the character's actions. The audience forever sees Brad Pitt's character walking around in the fight scenes. He is a critical observer and this also emphasizes his strength as a character. American Beauty's Ricky Fitts is also an observer in a more obvious way. Fitts is never seen without his camera. He documents things he finds beautiful throughout the film. To some extent he is similar to Lester and Tyler as he also lives for the more important things. He is constantly picking up on the smaller, more important things such as Janey's expressions. Disfunctionality plays a big part in both films. I feel every character in both films embody this one way or another. For example American Beauty's Jane craves human contact and some sort of a relationship with her father. On the other hand Marla craves sexual contact in order to feel better about herself. Marla (Fight Club) and Jane are different, fresh representations of females. They challenge the hegemonic values of feminity and beauty. The two of them do not fit in anywhere; this is enlightening to see characters that are not a walking stereotype. Although it could be argued that they are the ‘misfit’ stereotype.Fight Club and American Beauty both immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative and a voice-over. They also both begin at the end of the film, challenging usual narrative convention. The two films feature homoerotic overtones and to some extent can fall under the black comedy genre. These overtones make the audience uncomfortable and thereby keep them from anticipating the twist ending.
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Comparative Analysis - Fight Club & American Beauty Characters
Characters in Fight Club
Jack
Tyler Durden (Jack's alter ego)
Marla
Bob
Characters in American Beauty
Lester Burnham
Characters in American Beauty
Lester Burnham
Carolyn Burnham
Jane Burnham
Angela
Frank Fitz
Ricky Fitts
Jack and Lester - both struggling with masclinity whilst trying to re-define themselves. They both live joyless lives, they are consumers seeking happiness.
Jack and Carolyn - both pro-consumerist ideology to fulfil mental happiness, but deep down they are very unhappy.
Tyler and Lester - both quest for physical embodiment/ power, strength, endurance.
Tyler and Ricky - both observers/voyerisitc.
Tyler and Frank - both believe in traditional fighting values. (Frank forever wanting his son to fight back).
Frank and Bob - the most feminim characters in the films. Bob = no balls, 'bitch tits' Frank = he break downs, he cries, qualities of a woman.
Marla and Angela - both searching for gradification and fulfillment. They both have a constructed identity and deep insecurities, creating a false persona. They both crave male attention and in a sense are lost, they don't know what to do with themselves.
Marla and Jane - both disfuntional characters that don't fit in and the two of them are different representations of beauty. They challenge the ideologies of feminity and beauty, but are beautiful in their own right.
Marla, Angela and Jane - the three crave male attention. for Jane it's about male human contact, not sexually driven. She craves a father figure and some sort of relationship with her father. Whereas for Angela and Jane, they crave sexual attention from men in order to feel better about themselves.
Jack and Carolyn - both pro-consumerist ideology to fulfil mental happiness, but deep down they are very unhappy.
Tyler and Lester - both quest for physical embodiment/ power, strength, endurance.
Tyler and Ricky - both observers/voyerisitc.
Tyler and Frank - both believe in traditional fighting values. (Frank forever wanting his son to fight back).
Frank and Bob - the most feminim characters in the films. Bob = no balls, 'bitch tits' Frank = he break downs, he cries, qualities of a woman.
Marla and Angela - both searching for gradification and fulfillment. They both have a constructed identity and deep insecurities, creating a false persona. They both crave male attention and in a sense are lost, they don't know what to do with themselves.
Marla and Jane - both disfuntional characters that don't fit in and the two of them are different representations of beauty. They challenge the ideologies of feminity and beauty, but are beautiful in their own right.
Marla, Angela and Jane - the three crave male attention. for Jane it's about male human contact, not sexually driven. She craves a father figure and some sort of relationship with her father. Whereas for Angela and Jane, they crave sexual attention from men in order to feel better about themselves.
Comparative Analysis - Fight Club & American Beauty Opening Sequences
Both films conform to the expectations of a title sequence by:
- Introducing a protagonist
- Establishing a narrative
- Drawing the audience in
How are they similar?
- Both openings immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative
- Both openings feature a voice-over
- Both openings start at the end
- Both openings work hard to establish character, mood, tone, pace and thematics (The thematics being: dysfunctional families, destruction, anarchy, consumerism, power, control and most importantly subverting the Dream).
Both protagonists (Jack, Fight Club and Lester, American Beauty) are disfuntional, imprisoned, dissatisfied. On the face of it the two opening sequences look completely different, the cinematography in Fight Club is nothing like the cinematography in American Beauty. The score/soundtrack is different also, but these openings both take the audience on a journey through the characters and their mindsets.
- Introducing a protagonist
- Establishing a narrative
- Drawing the audience in
How are they similar?
- Both openings immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative
- Both openings feature a voice-over
- Both openings start at the end
- Both openings work hard to establish character, mood, tone, pace and thematics (The thematics being: dysfunctional families, destruction, anarchy, consumerism, power, control and most importantly subverting the Dream).
Both protagonists (Jack, Fight Club and Lester, American Beauty) are disfuntional, imprisoned, dissatisfied. On the face of it the two opening sequences look completely different, the cinematography in Fight Club is nothing like the cinematography in American Beauty. The score/soundtrack is different also, but these openings both take the audience on a journey through the characters and their mindsets.
Tuesday 3 February 2009
Tuesday 27 January 2009
The American Dream
Today's lesson was good :)
We looked at The American Dream and started to look at how Hollywood portrays it. I think this is going to be an interesting topic, because I am not sure if I am for it or against it. It's a tricky one.
First we did a brainstorm of The American Dream, like words or phrases that we associate with it.
The American Dream
- Justice
- Achieving Fame (Andy Warhol - 15 minutes of fame)
- Money
- Generations
- Opportunity
- Marther Luther King
- OBAMA
- Suburban Communities
- Democracy
- Marriage, family
- Rags to riches - one extreme to another
- Pursuit of Happiness
- High Profiles - cult of Celebrity
- Destiny
- "Jobs we hate..buying shit we don't need" - Fight Club
- Freedom
- Different classes
- Equality
- Moneyyyyyy
- Not just one American, but every American
Funnily enough, the perception we receive of America is actually a country which is uncomfortable with all these ideologies of the American Dream.
America comes across as this country with all the answers, the land of hope and opportunities. But it is really so perfect?
Statistics - from book Measure of America (Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins)
- Nearly third of all female murder victims were killed by intimate partners
- The majority of Americans cannot aford health insaurance
I want to get this book and read it!
There are many Hollywood films that embrace the ideologies of The American Dream, but there is also several others that are very 'anti-American Dream'.
For
Pretty Woman
This film as we all know is about two completely different people from different areas with different backgrounds and how they have freedom to climb the social ladder.
Hollywood often plays on this fairytale notion, such as ideologies of happy endings, princes/cess.
Basically, wealth talks + opens doors.
Coming to America
Again there is an ideology sold and America is represented as the land of dreams and particularly in this film not just for people who live there.
Against
Fight Club
I love this clip.
This clip represents this notion of what I like to call The American Cycle.
We go to school, get a good education. 'Graduate'
We then get a or are expected to get a good job, and for what? to buy things and to maintain a household.
This is the part that I am torn by.
The American Dream is essential to all of us.
To some extent I am very anti-American Dream, but on the other hand I like to think I have ambition? I don't really know, I am passionate and wish to look into this with more detail.
THEN we listed the films we remember and know that embody ideologies of The American Dream..
Filims
American Beauty! (Possibly the best film ever made)
Toy Story
The Lion King
Independence Day
Truman Show
Coach Carter
Sister Act
The Wizard of Oz
& So on...
AFTER ALL THAT :)
We started to watch the beginning of The Pursuit of Happyness. I have never seen it but I heard it is a bit of a tear-jerker, but of course being a Hollywood movie it is going to have a happy ending. Although I am more interested in cynical films that deconstruct, unravel and challenge the American Dream. I still gave this film a try and to be honest I can't wait to see the ending :)
In the opening I noticed a number of things.
- Emphasis on the Y, Will Smith's character always picks up on this mistake as it is written on the wall.
- There are no capitals featured in the title sequence, I couldn't figure out what this might represent maybe I need to carry on watching the film.
- There are flickering images of one extreme to the other (rags to riches)
i.e. a homeless person on the floor, then a rich black happy man.
I also noticed the different sub-genres of the American Dream such as:
Education
- Will Smith asks his son "Can you spell everything your thinking of?"
- Picks up on mistake 'happyness'
- "Have to go to college to be a stockbroker" (Again coming back to this idea of having a good education in order to get a good, stable job)
Health
- Carries around a medical device with him, he seems to risk and put his life on line a lot for this 'unnecessary luxury'.
Poverty
- Needing education
- Wife working double shifts
- Struggle
- Priorities
- Needing to sell things
I found this lesson very, very interesting today. I can't wait to see the rest :) :)
We looked at The American Dream and started to look at how Hollywood portrays it. I think this is going to be an interesting topic, because I am not sure if I am for it or against it. It's a tricky one.
First we did a brainstorm of The American Dream, like words or phrases that we associate with it.
The American Dream
- Justice
- Achieving Fame (Andy Warhol - 15 minutes of fame)
- Money
- Generations
- Opportunity
- Marther Luther King
- OBAMA
- Suburban Communities
- Democracy
- Marriage, family
- Rags to riches - one extreme to another
- Pursuit of Happiness
- High Profiles - cult of Celebrity
- Destiny
- "Jobs we hate..buying shit we don't need" - Fight Club
- Freedom
- Different classes
- Equality
- Moneyyyyyy
- Not just one American, but every American
Funnily enough, the perception we receive of America is actually a country which is uncomfortable with all these ideologies of the American Dream.
America comes across as this country with all the answers, the land of hope and opportunities. But it is really so perfect?
Statistics - from book Measure of America (Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins)
- Nearly third of all female murder victims were killed by intimate partners
- The majority of Americans cannot aford health insaurance
I want to get this book and read it!
There are many Hollywood films that embrace the ideologies of The American Dream, but there is also several others that are very 'anti-American Dream'.
For
Pretty Woman
This film as we all know is about two completely different people from different areas with different backgrounds and how they have freedom to climb the social ladder.
Hollywood often plays on this fairytale notion, such as ideologies of happy endings, princes/cess.
Basically, wealth talks + opens doors.
Coming to America
Again there is an ideology sold and America is represented as the land of dreams and particularly in this film not just for people who live there.
Against
Fight Club
I love this clip.
This clip represents this notion of what I like to call The American Cycle.
We go to school, get a good education. 'Graduate'
We then get a or are expected to get a good job, and for what? to buy things and to maintain a household.
This is the part that I am torn by.
The American Dream is essential to all of us.
To some extent I am very anti-American Dream, but on the other hand I like to think I have ambition? I don't really know, I am passionate and wish to look into this with more detail.
THEN we listed the films we remember and know that embody ideologies of The American Dream..
Filims
American Beauty! (Possibly the best film ever made)
Toy Story
The Lion King
Independence Day
Truman Show
Coach Carter
Sister Act
The Wizard of Oz
& So on...
AFTER ALL THAT :)
We started to watch the beginning of The Pursuit of Happyness. I have never seen it but I heard it is a bit of a tear-jerker, but of course being a Hollywood movie it is going to have a happy ending. Although I am more interested in cynical films that deconstruct, unravel and challenge the American Dream. I still gave this film a try and to be honest I can't wait to see the ending :)
In the opening I noticed a number of things.
- Emphasis on the Y, Will Smith's character always picks up on this mistake as it is written on the wall.
- There are no capitals featured in the title sequence, I couldn't figure out what this might represent maybe I need to carry on watching the film.
- There are flickering images of one extreme to the other (rags to riches)
i.e. a homeless person on the floor, then a rich black happy man.
I also noticed the different sub-genres of the American Dream such as:
Education
- Will Smith asks his son "Can you spell everything your thinking of?"
- Picks up on mistake 'happyness'
- "Have to go to college to be a stockbroker" (Again coming back to this idea of having a good education in order to get a good, stable job)
Health
- Carries around a medical device with him, he seems to risk and put his life on line a lot for this 'unnecessary luxury'.
Poverty
- Needing education
- Wife working double shifts
- Struggle
- Priorities
- Needing to sell things
I found this lesson very, very interesting today. I can't wait to see the rest :) :)
Thursday 22 January 2009
Generations
I then asked my mother the following questions. She said she does not count herself as British, as she was born in Derry (Northern Ireland). I then mentioned the fact that technically she is British, as Northern Ireland is part of The British Isles. She then went on to say how she doesn't really feel that bothered about being British. She doesn't feel proud, or ashamed. She said Britain is too set in its ways to change now, and she has accepted this.
I totally agree with my mother. I dread to think what my father has to say on the matter.
I totally agree with my mother. I dread to think what my father has to say on the matter.
British Cinema
Today's lesson was surprisingly interesting. We started FM2, in which we are looking at the theme Identity in British films. I don't know, I wasn't too keen on looking at British Cinema. I guess there are other British films other than This Is England. It turned out to be quite a good lesson. First we did some brainstorms, where we were asked a question and had to think of words/phrases that were relevant.
First brainstorm was to think of things we think are associated with Britain.
British
Poor weather
Houses of Parliament
Pie and mash
Fish and chips
Full English
The Queen
The British bulldog
LANDAN
You know, this was surprisingly difficult!
We were then asked two questions
How does it feel to be British?
Pessimistic
Angry
Proud
Moaning
Conflicted
Stereotyped
Judged
Intolerant
Fed-up
Stabbing
Hoodie Culture
Underdog
Better than everyone else (JAKE)
Racist
What do you understand about the term 'multicultural'?
Sub-culture
Stereotypes
Diversity
Racism
Religion
Judgemental
Race
Fear
Embrace
Division
Mainstream Culture
Duality of life
Poverty
We discussed these things and all sorts of points were made. I find it fascinating to see other people's views and opinions.
We then watc
hed the beginning of Yasmin. It is a film about Muslim culture, and is set in parts of Keighley. It looks at before and after the 9/11 bombings. Whilst watching the opening I noticed many things and I made some notes about it as we are going to be returning to this.
Immediately I noticed the mise-en-scene. It looks like a run-down town. Barely any money is spend on the community. The first thing the camera shows us is their houses, what does that say about them? This little community is dedicated to the Muslims that live in this town. There is a nice shot of a Muslim man scrubbing off racial abuse which appears to be on his garage door, I think. This shows that they are the minority in this town and that the rest of the town are intolerable. I found it sad in a way, because you will probably find places like this in Britain.
We then cut to a Muslim woman (the main character) changing out of her culture clothing into something we wouldn't expect her to wear. She is getting changed in the middle of nowhere, randomly on grass. The first thing I thought is that she has to hide this from her family, and that she is trying to fit in. She takes off her scarf. It seems to me that she is going against her beliefs JUST to fit in.
Next we see her at work, talking to a colleague. I liked this scene. I love how she was picking up on the typical British mannerism as she says to her colleague, "I'll buy you a pint". She would never speak like that in front of her family. At this point I felt like this character was leading two different lives. Interestingly enough, the tagline for this film is 'one woman, two lives'.
When we are introduced to the rest of the family briefly in between but more so after, we can tell the director or writer is playing on the stereotypical Muslim. The accent, of course is a dead give-away and the use of the word 'bloody' is very common. Her father comes across as a very traditional religious Muslim. He disapproves of her buying a car, to me this shows how dated religion is, not just the Muslim culture. It is just my view on most religions.
The main character came across as very interesting to me. People relied on her because she seems more independent than the rest of the community. She is the representative of the divide as she is leading these two separate lives. She translates for people, when she comes home she is in the kitchen, the men in the house don't seem to be doing anything. Her relationship with her family doesn't seem very strong. She is different from them and we can tell she isn't really that religious. She is also married, but only for a VISA. Very stereotypical, isn't this a little offensive? I don't know. All I know is I am intrigued and can not wait to return to this film.
First brainstorm was to think of things we think are associated with Britain.
British
Poor weather
Houses of Parliament
Pie and mash
Fish and chips
Full English
The Queen
The British bulldog
LANDAN
You know, this was surprisingly difficult!
We were then asked two questions
How does it feel to be British?
Pessimistic
Angry
Proud
Moaning
Conflicted
Stereotyped
Judged
Intolerant
Fed-up
Stabbing
Hoodie Culture
Underdog
Better than everyone else (JAKE)
Racist
What do you understand about the term 'multicultural'?
Sub-culture
Stereotypes
Diversity
Racism
Religion
Judgemental
Race
Fear
Embrace
Division
Mainstream Culture
Duality of life
Poverty
We discussed these things and all sorts of points were made. I find it fascinating to see other people's views and opinions.
We then watc
hed the beginning of Yasmin. It is a film about Muslim culture, and is set in parts of Keighley. It looks at before and after the 9/11 bombings. Whilst watching the opening I noticed many things and I made some notes about it as we are going to be returning to this.Immediately I noticed the mise-en-scene. It looks like a run-down town. Barely any money is spend on the community. The first thing the camera shows us is their houses, what does that say about them? This little community is dedicated to the Muslims that live in this town. There is a nice shot of a Muslim man scrubbing off racial abuse which appears to be on his garage door, I think. This shows that they are the minority in this town and that the rest of the town are intolerable. I found it sad in a way, because you will probably find places like this in Britain.
We then cut to a Muslim woman (the main character) changing out of her culture clothing into something we wouldn't expect her to wear. She is getting changed in the middle of nowhere, randomly on grass. The first thing I thought is that she has to hide this from her family, and that she is trying to fit in. She takes off her scarf. It seems to me that she is going against her beliefs JUST to fit in.
Next we see her at work, talking to a colleague. I liked this scene. I love how she was picking up on the typical British mannerism as she says to her colleague, "I'll buy you a pint". She would never speak like that in front of her family. At this point I felt like this character was leading two different lives. Interestingly enough, the tagline for this film is 'one woman, two lives'.
When we are introduced to the rest of the family briefly in between but more so after, we can tell the director or writer is playing on the stereotypical Muslim. The accent, of course is a dead give-away and the use of the word 'bloody' is very common. Her father comes across as a very traditional religious Muslim. He disapproves of her buying a car, to me this shows how dated religion is, not just the Muslim culture. It is just my view on most religions.
The main character came across as very interesting to me. People relied on her because she seems more independent than the rest of the community. She is the representative of the divide as she is leading these two separate lives. She translates for people, when she comes home she is in the kitchen, the men in the house don't seem to be doing anything. Her relationship with her family doesn't seem very strong. She is different from them and we can tell she isn't really that religious. She is also married, but only for a VISA. Very stereotypical, isn't this a little offensive? I don't know. All I know is I am intrigued and can not wait to return to this film.
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Lionsgate Investors
The recent announcement of the fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel with partners Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM.
YAY!
Lionsgate also has forged partnerships with leading content creators, owners and distributors in key territories around the world, including Televisa in the U.S. and Latin America, StudioCanal in the UK, Hoyts and Sony in Australia and Eros International in India.
I want to see My Bloody Valentine 3D ><"
Marketing Madness - How important is marketing in influencing people to watch Hollywood films?
To some extent and in most cases marketing is the biggest influence when it comes to selling a film. How else is a film going to be heard about? I think Hollywood spends more money on marketing than it does earning money for the actual film. The amount of time and money that is spent on marketing is just crazy. It really fascinates me. I would love to pursue a career in film marketing, I find it so intriguing.Take Saw V as an example. Everyone all over the world has heard about it. The last four films are still spoken about. I love the people who complain about them, because they still go to see them. It is really amusing. The marketing for any one of those films is just amazing. I cannot get over the amount of hype they receive, whether you like them or not!
In previous posts I have looked at the marketing for Saw V briefly, i.e. posters and merchandise. Whilst I was searching on the internet I found this online article I just had to include! Basically the lastest site for Saw V allows visitors to enter their name and a friend's in order to generate a creepy message that can be dialled to any home number. The Saw makers have done it again. Brilliant! Seriously the marketing for this film is just AMAZING. First the fake movie poster and now this. I mean this have attracted all kinds of attention, good and bad.
Listen to the creepy message here =D
http://media.thestar.com/newmedia/audio/CreepyVoice.mp3
Read the full article here
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/519309
Just a short post, a starting point. I will come back to this very soon
Sunday 11 January 2009
Hollywood Studios
The Big 6
- Fox
- Paramount
- Universal
- Disney
- Columbia
- Warner Bros
Fox
owned by Murdoch's News International
Paramount
owned by Viacom, which owns Showcase Cinema, MTV, Nickelodeon and Blockbuster Video.
Universal
owned by General Electric, which also own NBC.
Disney
is a huge transnational coporation which owns Buena Vista and Miramax (large independent film company)
Columbia Pictures
owned by Sony, and took over MGM in September 2004.
Warner Bros
is part of the World's largest media company, Time Warner. It also owns AOL.
The Independent-Majors
- Lionsgate Entertainment
- Artisian Entertainment (Owned by Lionsgate)
- Dreamworks
- The Weinstein Company
- Dimension Films [originally the Miramax Films division] (Part of Weinstein)
Mainstream Cinema
By the end of the 1920's, there were 20 Hollywood studios, and the silent films were being manufactured, assembly-line style, in Hollywood's 'entertainment factories'.Even these earliest films were organized into genres, with instantly recognisable storylines, settings, costumes and characters to fulfil audience expectations. The emphasis was on swashbucklers, historical extravaganzas and melodramas, although all kinds of films were being produced throughout the decade.
The studio system was established in the 1920s, with long-term contracts for stars and increasingly rigid control of directors and stars. After the First World War America was the leading producer in the world, although the 'factory' system did limit the creativity of many directors. Production was in the hands of the major studios who had consolidated and now controlled all aspects of a film's development - vertical intregration. By 1929, the Big Five were producing more than 90% of global output.
The Big Five had vast studios with elaborate sets for film production. They owned their own production and distribution facilities and distributed their films to their own theatres. The Big Five were, Warner Bros, Paramount, Twentieth Century-Fox, RKO and MGM. Universal, United Artists and Columbia were known as the 'little studios' because they did not have complete vertical integration of all stages of production and distribution. In one form or another these studios still run Hollywood today.
Thursday 8 January 2009
Post-production
So today is Thursday, almost the end of the first week back. Today was our first chance to get into the editing suite and come back to our films.Callum edited as me and Jake sort of directed him. We have now gone back and are sticking to Final Cut Pro! WHEY
Fairnie took a look at our footage and made a few (amusing) suggestions :)
Jake kindly wrote down a list for us of things to do, I also added abit ^_^
Things to do
Establish things such as WHY does our character feel the need to work?
Make film more edgy and fast
Include shots of eyes inbetween reading or shakey hands to go with manic leg movement
Sort out music
Voiceover! - My thoughts: "I want a sausage roll", random words perhaps revelent to photography such as: contrast, framing, (a play on words because these things are revelent to film, perhaps expand this)
& also other people's point of view: "Everytime I see her.." etc.
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