We fade in to a shot of the serene lake, the surrounding trees. Then we hear some fast footsteps--two people running. We see two people running along a trail bordering the woods and a lake. Eventually they slow to a halt. The guy says, “You sure you can keep up, Taylor?” and chuckles. The girl gives him a smirk and slaps him on the arm. “I’m keeping up fine Nathen thank you”, she says the last part sarcastically. “Well, it’s only a couple more miles and then we’ll turn around. We’ve got to be ready for that marathon.” They begin running again and it fades out as happy music plays in the background.
There is a knock on the door and the girl opens to the guy, who says,”You ready?” The girl replies, “Yeah let’s go.” The girl, in a navy blue shirt and black shorts, heads outside. We see her shutting the door.
In the car, the guy says, “I was gonna wait until we got to the marathon, but I thought I’d just get it over with.” He pulls out a watch from his pocket and says, “Happy One Year Anniversary” and gives it to her. The girl accepts the gift and smiles with her eyes looking down and her face glowing. They start driving, and the girl has trouble putting on the watch. The guy reaches over and smiles. The camera pans away to the trail.
The trail empty, except for an OTS of the girl staring ahead. Shes wearing the same clothing as when she left for the marathon, watch and all. Then it cuts to an ECU of the girl, a small drip of water going down her cheek. She looks at her watch [9:45] She turns around all of a sudden and walks away.
We see the girl running by herself in the woods and by the guy’s house in different sets of clothes which each cut. Every time she passes by his house she glances over at the window, with its blinds/curtains shut. Then after one day outside of his house she finally pulls out her phone and tries to call him. She calls the guy and leaves a message. “Hi umm. Just another message. I must’ve sent a hundred by now. Look, I know you were a little freaked out about what happened but it’s fine now, so just...call me back...please.” The girl sighs and puts the phone down. She stares at her running shoes and continues to run.
She is in the spot where she remembered being with the guy (opening scene). She stops. There is a flash of that scene and when she returns to the present the guy is standing there in black running clothes. The girl smiles. “Get my messages?” “More or less...I’m sorry we didn’t get to do the marathon. Come on [he gestures]...if you can keep up” [he half-smiles] He gestures to her to run with him. She does and after a bit she spots a tree and says, “Last one to the tree is a rotten egg!” She runs as fast as she can laughing. We see her from the front and see that the guy is no longer there. She reaches the tree and says as she turns around, “See I told you I could kee-”. She sees him no longer there.
Then she sees him again turning to cross the bridge not far away. Then she starts running fast in that direction. She keeps running but can never seem to catch up to him. She is now in the neighborhood and she is running out of breath but she keeps going as we have a split screen of the guy putting on a shirt, a tie (white), combing his hair. We see her jumping over things--little obstacles.
As she knocks on his door frantically it finally opens. The guy opens the door, dressed in black. “I’ve been waiting for you,” he says half-smiling. “Let’s walk.” They walk a short distance and sit down on a bench. “You see. Nathan’s gone. He’s off living his life. You don’t belong here anymore Taylor.” The girl looks at him in confusion and looks at her watch again [9:45] and starts to speak but the guy cuts her off. “This isn’t your world. Nathan in white knocks on an unknown door. The door opens to a different girl. “You’ve been gone for months don’t you get it? Let him go. Let me go,” Nathan’s subconscious self explains to Emily as they sit on the bench. The girl stands up, unsure of what to do and who the man is. Looking around she finally decides to run back to his house.
She goes into his room and sees the photos of her on his dresser, below which rests a photo-shopped image of her that says Rest In Peace Taylor 1991-2011 with a small heart at the bottom. She sees the watch, no longer ticking, below the photo and grabs it and the photo. She puts on the watch and then drops to the floor quietly, staring at the photo. The man comes in.The girl says, “Is he okay?” “I told you. He’s moving on. He’s left this part of himself behind. Nathan puts his hands on his chest, indicating that this is the subconscious part of himself he left behind. Nathan’s subconscious self reaches his hand out. “He never forgave himself, you know.” We briefly see Nathan with the other girl and they’re walking. He stops and gives this stranger a watch identical to Taylor’s. Then we see Taylor with look of sudden realization on her face as we hear a car swerving and then crashing, and the Taylor takes his hand, the watch still on her wrist. As he says this, we see the girl’ bloody arm limply outside the car, with the watch still ticking away. They fade into nothing, leaving the photo on the empty floor.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Ideology in Film
1. What is ideology and how can it be implicit vs. explicit?
It means the values/viewpoints and meanings/messages that a media text such as film might be able to communicate to the viewer.
Explicit - What a character in a film or a director/producer/writer themselves declare to be the subject of the film.
Implicit - The more debatable meanings of a film, possibly beyond the conscious intentions of the filmmaker, that require analysis and a reasoned argument.
2. Ideology and Expectations;Give an example of an a actor that presents a predictable ideological package that studios are quick to use. List as many of their film roles as possible – noting the particular actions/dialogues associated with the character that they play. Make a list of the five adjectives that you think best capture their typical role. Produce a detailed description of what you think their next role will be like.
Tom Cruise:
A)a multi-million dollar budget with high production values, state-of-the-art special effects, a driving narrative, attractiveness
Mission Impossible: secret agent who is obligated to save the world, uses his skills and intelligence to fight the morally corrupt/ evil
B)Collateral (2004): Tom Cruise takes a rare turn as the bad guy, playing a contract killer.
Minority Report (2002): he plays a cop in the near future who works with psychic "pre-cogs" to prevent crimes before they happen.
War Of The Worlds (2005): In this second teaming with director Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise plays a divorced father who must fight to save his children from alien invaders
A Few Good Men (1992): In Rob Reiner's "A Few Good Men", Tom Cruise plays a Navy lawyer charged with defending a pair of Marines accused of murder at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.
The Firm (1993): In this film, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name, Tom Cruise plays a young lawyer who goes to work for an exclusive Memphis law firm.
physically active, intelligent, attractive, manipulative, brave
Personal Ideologies and the Enjoyment of Film: Think of a film that you enjoy and know well. Consider which characters you like. Analyze your favorite character using these useful questions to bear in mind when considering ideology are: Inception - Dominic Cobb
3. What is it that you like about them and what has the filmmaker done to encourage you to feel this way?
I like Dominic because he is a family man who tries his hardest to return to his children by helping a CEO defeat his competition. He is highly intelligent and is willing to take chances. The filmmakers have created an interesting and driving narrative and have chosen a popular actor for this role.
A)What values am I being asked to share or reject?
The value hat I am being asked to share is that escaping or creating one reality is not the best way to solve one’s problems. Also, the film reveals that letting go of the past is important so that one can move on and enjoy life.
How are my feelings being manipulated to prefer one viewpoint over another? (Camera placement/movement and editing are particularly important here.)
During the scene (Dom’s flashback) of his wife standing on the ledge of the hotel building, the camera is placed in between them over the city high up above the ground. Before Mal kills herself, there are cuts between Dom and Mal in which Dom is trying to convince his wife to stop the madness. Then, she jumps off the building and as she is falling it slows down. We sympathize with Dom because we see the pain he is enduring and we understand that he blames himself for his wife’s death.
B)Why might a filmmaker want me to prefer one viewpoint to another?
So that we support his decision to perform ‘inception’ in order to clear his name and return to his family and his life. The filmmaker wants me to prefer one viewpoint over another because he is the driving force of the plot and he provides the emotional aspect of the film.
4. What are the artistic/financial consequences of filmmakers trying to predict what an audience might approve/disapprove of?
Many films’ ideologies (implicit) are debatable, so they can cause different reactions for audiences. Films can be released to specific audiences before their official release, and if there is a majority negative reaction then the filmmakers can re-film or re-edit. This is costly and may destroy or alter the auteur’s initial vision of the film. However, if the film is released officially and there is a negative reaction this can lead to bad reviews which then lead to its unpopularity in the box office. Filmmakers can lose money as well.
5. What are the artistic/financial consequences of filmmakers trying to predict what a film's financier might approve/disapprove of?
If the producer disapproves of the film, there might not be investments for it, thus costing a waste in valuable money and ruining the artistic vision of the auteur. It can also have a long-term impact because that investor may not want to work with the filmmakers in the future. The investor also may have wanted the film to go in a different direction that perhaps the filmmakers initially considered, thus delaying the release of the film.
6. Changing Ideologies: Why would the ideologies of a given era or time period change the way a narrative is presented to its audience? Can you give an example of a film narrative that has changed over generations?
Films are a reflection of society even if they are from a completely unrealistic genre. Films can reflect political views, religious views, educational views, and media’s views. An example of a film narrative that has changed over the generations would be that of fairy tale movies such as Red Riding Hood. In the film, The Company of Wolves, Granny tells her granddaughter Rosaleen strange, disturbing tales about innocent maidens falling in love with handsome, heavily eyebrowed strangers with a smoldering look in their eyes; about sudden disappearances of spouses when the moon is round & the wolves are howling in the woods. In the 2011 film, Red Riding Hood, a medieval village is haunted by a werewolf, and a young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure.
7. Ideology and the "Effects" Debate: Do you feel that films can affect you and your behavior without being conscience of it?
Films can affect you and your behavior without being conscious of it because in order to enjoy a film you have to accept what you are watching. Once you accept it, the content subconsciously becomes a part of your ideology so that it influences what you believe is right or wrong.
8. Ideology and Realism: Define Suspension of disbelief and give an example from a recent film you have watched.
Sometimes we can accept what we see on the screen as true because we haven’t had any personal experience with the subject and therefore cannot prove that it isn’t true. An example in which the suspension of disbelief applies is the film recently saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011). Ethan Hunt’s fight scene with the villain lasts for several minutes and wakes up after being knocked out and beaten up multiple times quite quickly.
9. Ideology & ownership: Does the financial support of a film or the ownership of a production company influence the ideology represented in a film? Explain with an example.
The financial support of a film or ownership of a film company influences the ideology of its films because they have the advantage of controlling the subject of the film. If the financial supporter doesn’t agree whatever they are doing, they can back out of a project. This is a set back for the filmmakers, so they must allow financiers to give some input. However, the loss of initial vision of the auteur can be prevented with contracts and such. An example of this is the Walt Disney Company who typically creates family friendly animated films. The common theme that revolve around its films is a heroic character who faces a challenge, but ultimately overcomes it and lives happily ever after. Because their target audience is children, Walt Disney wants to have a happy ending that leaves them satisfied. In the film, Finding Nemo, Marlin (main character) attempts to rescue his son Nemo after being captured by humans. Nemo is his only son and he is extremely overprotective of him. At the end the two are reunited (as expected) and they both learn life lessons. Disney tries to show that despite obstacle, strong family bonds are worth fighting for.
It means the values/viewpoints and meanings/messages that a media text such as film might be able to communicate to the viewer.
Explicit - What a character in a film or a director/producer/writer themselves declare to be the subject of the film.
Implicit - The more debatable meanings of a film, possibly beyond the conscious intentions of the filmmaker, that require analysis and a reasoned argument.
2. Ideology and Expectations;Give an example of an a actor that presents a predictable ideological package that studios are quick to use. List as many of their film roles as possible – noting the particular actions/dialogues associated with the character that they play. Make a list of the five adjectives that you think best capture their typical role. Produce a detailed description of what you think their next role will be like.
Tom Cruise:
A)a multi-million dollar budget with high production values, state-of-the-art special effects, a driving narrative, attractiveness
Mission Impossible: secret agent who is obligated to save the world, uses his skills and intelligence to fight the morally corrupt/ evil
B)Collateral (2004): Tom Cruise takes a rare turn as the bad guy, playing a contract killer.
Minority Report (2002): he plays a cop in the near future who works with psychic "pre-cogs" to prevent crimes before they happen.
War Of The Worlds (2005): In this second teaming with director Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise plays a divorced father who must fight to save his children from alien invaders
A Few Good Men (1992): In Rob Reiner's "A Few Good Men", Tom Cruise plays a Navy lawyer charged with defending a pair of Marines accused of murder at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.
The Firm (1993): In this film, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name, Tom Cruise plays a young lawyer who goes to work for an exclusive Memphis law firm.
physically active, intelligent, attractive, manipulative, brave
Personal Ideologies and the Enjoyment of Film: Think of a film that you enjoy and know well. Consider which characters you like. Analyze your favorite character using these useful questions to bear in mind when considering ideology are: Inception - Dominic Cobb
3. What is it that you like about them and what has the filmmaker done to encourage you to feel this way?
I like Dominic because he is a family man who tries his hardest to return to his children by helping a CEO defeat his competition. He is highly intelligent and is willing to take chances. The filmmakers have created an interesting and driving narrative and have chosen a popular actor for this role.
A)What values am I being asked to share or reject?
The value hat I am being asked to share is that escaping or creating one reality is not the best way to solve one’s problems. Also, the film reveals that letting go of the past is important so that one can move on and enjoy life.
How are my feelings being manipulated to prefer one viewpoint over another? (Camera placement/movement and editing are particularly important here.)
During the scene (Dom’s flashback) of his wife standing on the ledge of the hotel building, the camera is placed in between them over the city high up above the ground. Before Mal kills herself, there are cuts between Dom and Mal in which Dom is trying to convince his wife to stop the madness. Then, she jumps off the building and as she is falling it slows down. We sympathize with Dom because we see the pain he is enduring and we understand that he blames himself for his wife’s death.
B)Why might a filmmaker want me to prefer one viewpoint to another?
So that we support his decision to perform ‘inception’ in order to clear his name and return to his family and his life. The filmmaker wants me to prefer one viewpoint over another because he is the driving force of the plot and he provides the emotional aspect of the film.
4. What are the artistic/financial consequences of filmmakers trying to predict what an audience might approve/disapprove of?
Many films’ ideologies (implicit) are debatable, so they can cause different reactions for audiences. Films can be released to specific audiences before their official release, and if there is a majority negative reaction then the filmmakers can re-film or re-edit. This is costly and may destroy or alter the auteur’s initial vision of the film. However, if the film is released officially and there is a negative reaction this can lead to bad reviews which then lead to its unpopularity in the box office. Filmmakers can lose money as well.
5. What are the artistic/financial consequences of filmmakers trying to predict what a film's financier might approve/disapprove of?
If the producer disapproves of the film, there might not be investments for it, thus costing a waste in valuable money and ruining the artistic vision of the auteur. It can also have a long-term impact because that investor may not want to work with the filmmakers in the future. The investor also may have wanted the film to go in a different direction that perhaps the filmmakers initially considered, thus delaying the release of the film.
6. Changing Ideologies: Why would the ideologies of a given era or time period change the way a narrative is presented to its audience? Can you give an example of a film narrative that has changed over generations?
Films are a reflection of society even if they are from a completely unrealistic genre. Films can reflect political views, religious views, educational views, and media’s views. An example of a film narrative that has changed over the generations would be that of fairy tale movies such as Red Riding Hood. In the film, The Company of Wolves, Granny tells her granddaughter Rosaleen strange, disturbing tales about innocent maidens falling in love with handsome, heavily eyebrowed strangers with a smoldering look in their eyes; about sudden disappearances of spouses when the moon is round & the wolves are howling in the woods. In the 2011 film, Red Riding Hood, a medieval village is haunted by a werewolf, and a young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure.
7. Ideology and the "Effects" Debate: Do you feel that films can affect you and your behavior without being conscience of it?
Films can affect you and your behavior without being conscious of it because in order to enjoy a film you have to accept what you are watching. Once you accept it, the content subconsciously becomes a part of your ideology so that it influences what you believe is right or wrong.
8. Ideology and Realism: Define Suspension of disbelief and give an example from a recent film you have watched.
Sometimes we can accept what we see on the screen as true because we haven’t had any personal experience with the subject and therefore cannot prove that it isn’t true. An example in which the suspension of disbelief applies is the film recently saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011). Ethan Hunt’s fight scene with the villain lasts for several minutes and wakes up after being knocked out and beaten up multiple times quite quickly.
9. Ideology & ownership: Does the financial support of a film or the ownership of a production company influence the ideology represented in a film? Explain with an example.
The financial support of a film or ownership of a film company influences the ideology of its films because they have the advantage of controlling the subject of the film. If the financial supporter doesn’t agree whatever they are doing, they can back out of a project. This is a set back for the filmmakers, so they must allow financiers to give some input. However, the loss of initial vision of the auteur can be prevented with contracts and such. An example of this is the Walt Disney Company who typically creates family friendly animated films. The common theme that revolve around its films is a heroic character who faces a challenge, but ultimately overcomes it and lives happily ever after. Because their target audience is children, Walt Disney wants to have a happy ending that leaves them satisfied. In the film, Finding Nemo, Marlin (main character) attempts to rescue his son Nemo after being captured by humans. Nemo is his only son and he is extremely overprotective of him. At the end the two are reunited (as expected) and they both learn life lessons. Disney tries to show that despite obstacle, strong family bonds are worth fighting for.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Writing About Film
What are the 5 kinds of film writing described in the article and what are the key details of each.
Formal Analysis: The viewer breaks the film down into individual parts and analyzes how those parts contribute to the whole.
Film History: They are involved in history, reflect history, influence history, and have history. It also reflects the values and ideas of the culture that produced it.
Ideological Papers: Analyzing films' values regarding things like politics or family.
Cultural Studies / National Cinemas: Films reflect the cultures and nations in which they were produced. Each country's film style is different.
Discussion of the Auteur: Auteur criticism understands a film as the product of a single person and his vision. Auteur criticism draws on other sources, like film history or formal analysis, in order to insure that the paper is not simply an examination of the private life or the psychology of the auteur.
What does “Annotating a Film Sequence” involve and what are it’s benefits?
Annotating a scene involves labeling each shot in a sequence. This enables you to keep track of the complex sequence of shots. Thus a pattern of camera movement and editing decisions helps you to understand 1) how the director crafted his film, and 2) why the film has a certain effect on the audience.
What does the author imply when she says to “Think Beyond the Frame?
It means to consider questions such as how the film was made or it's historical context.
Who made the film?
What is the production history of the film?
What do the critics and scholars say?
What can you learn from the film's genre?
Does the film reflect an interesting cultural phenomenon?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)