Blog Week of April 11-15 2016

This week in the class of Film Study, I learned about even more about the dramatic sense of film and more specifically applied to the Dark Knight. As is known to all, the Dark Knight is a film that came out in 2008 that primarily dealt with the story of a comic book hero, Batman and his exploits versus two of his more famed people from his extensive rouges gallery, The Joker and Harvey Dent, otherwise known as Two-Face. During this week I also learned how to compare the dramatic elements of this film to an earlier iteration by another director Tim Burton, as opposed to the director of this film, Christopher Nolan.

One element that was discussed was the overall mise en scene of both movies and how they differed. This is a very obvious difference because one, The Dark Knight, is a much grittier iteration of the Caped Crusader compared to the campier iteration of the World’s Greatest Detective. However this is not as campy as the Adam West iteration of Batman during the 60s. That invented the concept of campiness as it relates to superheroes. Another iteration that takes the character of Batman in a different direction is the animated television show staring Batman and aptly called “Batman: the Animated Series”. In this series, Batman is seen as the true crusader and hero of Gotham with a clear moral compass however less so than Superman who is a completely different superhero who has his own iterations.

An element that contributes to this idea of overall mise-on-scene is the costumes. More especially the costume of the Joker throughout both Batman and The Dark Knight. In Batman, the Joker always has perfect makeup and his suits always looked perfectly pressed. His hair is almost always good-looking. This overall gives the impression of a villain, yes, but also a professional man with a plan. However in Nolan’s interpretation of the Joker character, the Joker’s makeup looks crude done, like it was self-supplied, and progressively gets worse and smear throughout the course of the film. An example would be when he is in the holding cell and being interrogated by Batman and Gordon. Also his clothes look a little less formal and expensive looking and his hair is almost never perfect.

Another element that contributes to the overall mise-en-scene of the acting of the different actors especially Christian Bale in Dark Knight and Michael Keaton in Batman as Batman. In The Dark Knight, Batman is seen not as a man who wants to be Batman and willingly goes out to fight crime but a man who does it because he feels he has a duty and he wants to repay that duty, no matter the cost. This as opposed to the acting of Keaton’s Batman who is a man who is the Batman because he wants to. He does struggle with what it means to be Batman and never struggles with the reality of being Batman. This contributes to the almost campiness of Batman and how the movie fails to explore and doesn’t dare to try and find the deep psychological pressures of being Batman has on a person. Dark Knight on the other hand does this perfectly.

Each iteration of Batman has their own interpretation of The Caped Crusader and as such fits their own personal stories around this character. However, whether they be animated or live-action, serious or not, each of these iterations shows the Crusader of Gotham against the scourge of evil.

March 21-25

During the course of the week in the class of Film Study, the movie, O Brother, Where art Thou?, was shown. This movie relates to what we learned through the week before about looking at a movie in a literary sense because in the movie, it shows many examples of allusion, irony and other such literary devices. Overall however, I really liked this movie. The soundtrack was one of the best that I had heard in a movie since I saw West Side Story or Jesus Christ Superstar. Something else I liked about the movie is its ability to use the Odyssey in such a way that it tells the story not of a man in Ancient Greece but an ex-con who escaped with some imitated people in the 1930s.

One literary device that was very prevalent during the film was the device of allusion. Allusion is when a work refers to another work in a passing manner. A very good example is when Ulysses and the people with him meet the one-eyed Bible salesman, Big Dan. He later turns out to be part of the Klan and corresponds to the cyclops in the Odyssey. Another case of allusion is when at the end they sing “You are my Sunshine”, which is an actual song written by Johnny Cash in the 70s.

Another literary device present is the use of foreshadowing. One good example is when Delmar and Pete are saved or baptized by Evangelists. From this moment, a viewer is able to discern the fact that religion will now play a large part in the movie. For instance in the next part, the entire gang meets Tommy Johnson, who is said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to play a guitar in a manner befitting a master. Another example is when they meet George Nelson or better known by his nickname, Babyface Nelson. When he tells him that he is a criminal, Pete and Delmar are against because they have been saved and don;t want to end up back on the path that they were going down before. This causes some conflict but not a lot as they eventually go along with him and help him rob a bank and take a cut of the money.

The last thing I want to talk about is not about the literary devices and impact of the film but the music off the movie because of its prevalent position in the film. For instance the soundtrack for this movie won many awards and even spent some time on Billboard’s Top Country Chart. The song’s themselves actually speak to the characters who sing them and what is going on at that time in the movie. For instance, the most popular song, I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrows, speaks to how George Clooney’s character,Ulysses, feels throughout the film. The son talks about a man who is down on his luck and is at the lowest point in his life, even his own mother won’t face him. This is similar to Ulysses. This is man who has been sent to prison and thus lost the love of his life and breaks out to go and see her. However she ends up with another man but, as opposed to the song, it ends well for him, as he ends up with the girl.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a movie that displays many of the tropes that we are learning in class. It does this through its use of foreshadowing, allusions and ultimately through the medium of music.

Week of Feb.29 to March 4

This week in Film Study I learned about the noir film and more specifically the Maltese Flacon and how it relates to the genre itself. Personally I thought that the Maltese Falcon was a good movie with enough suspense, drama and even a bit of comedy to keep me on the edge of my seat. Overall, I thought it was a very well made film and exemplified what it meant to be a noir film. For instance, it had many of the archetypes that atypical noir film has like Spade as the flawed protagonist, O’Shuangessey as the femme fatale and more.

Another way that it exemplified that whole noir genre is it story telling and the themes that it had. For instance, the whole scene where Spade is insulting the cops and says to the chief to keep his boyfriend in check was a very risqué one for when the movie came out. At that time, homosexuality was a very taboo topic, almost never talked about and a topic that would have gotten a normal man ejected from the premises on the grounds of disturbing the peace. However this film mentions it in a passing joke but the Production Code wouldn’t have it and had them censor the comment in the 1931 version. Audiences couldn’t see the full unedited version until the 1960s.

The Cinematography of the film also exemplifies it’s induction into the noir genres. It utilized many different camera angles to signify many different plot devices. For instance, in the scene where Gutman is explains the history of the Falcon to Spade, the camera does an amazing thing going from following Spade and Gutman from a room to a pan of the room and finally on Gutman’s face from Spade’s point of view where we, as an audience, can see his huge stomach. This emphasizes Gutman’s supposed power and later this is repeated when Spade is drugged by Gutman. We see Gutman’s huge stomach and power an finally Spade passes out giving us a scene of somewhat weakness on the side of Spade.

The last way that this film earns its spot in the noir category is the lighting of the film. Throughout the film, many of the important characters are never lit properly, that is to say that their faces are lit in such a way that their faces still have shadows in them. Also in some scenes Wilmer, the fall guy who is selected to take the blame for the whole operation and the murders, is lit in such a way that he looks younger, almost childish when he is told he will take the fall. This seems to indicate a sense of lost innocence and just overall sadness because he knows that he has just lost maybe the next 20 years of his life.

So in conclusion, The Maltese Falcon is a noir film in the purest sense. It has all of the elements of a typical noir film like the archetypes or the lighting. However it also has elements like a famous last line like “The stuff that dreams are made out of” which has entered into popular culture and the public consciousness. This film is truly noir material.

Citizen Kane Blogpost

Citizen Kane is argue all one of the best movies of all time. This is because of its revolutionary camera use, soundtrack and story. I full heartedly support this claim because after viewing it and viewing it with commentary, I too have arrived at that conclusion. It is now one of my favorite movies and after seeing it, I was able to also pick up on the various ways that Citizen Kane has permeated into popular culture.

The first reason I think that it is revolutionary is because of camerawork. I especially like the use of deep focus by Toolen throughout the movie. For instance in the beginning flashback at Mary Kane’s house , the use of deep focus when everything in the scene is in focus really allowed me to be able to discern the contextual significance of that scene. The significance being how this scene forever changes Charles Kane’s life. Another scene that I thought had really good camera work was the montage with Kane and his first wife. This montage shows the disintegration of their marriage through a two shoot then one shots. The first shot was a two shot that showed a couple still in the honeymoon phase of the marriage. After that the shots are all one shots and through these shots we, as viewers, are able to see just how their relationship fades and the love fades. The last shot then shows them reading differing newspapers with Kane reading his Enquirer while the wife was reading the competitor Chronicle.

Another example of good camera work, in my option, is Kane’s speech when he is running for governor. During this moment, Kane is giving a speech about how he will put Boss Jim Gettys in prison and how he will be a represent ice for the people. The camera pans out to show a large crowd in front of and behind him, however in reality that is just painting with lights under it to show movement. I think this is truly revolutionary and an interesting solution to a problem. The soundtrack of this scene is also amazing because it gives the illusion that there are lots of people there when in reality there aren’t.

This leads me to my next point on why this movie is such a revolutionary film which is the sound of the movie. For instance, when Kane is yelling at Gettys at Susan Alexander’s house, This moment gave me goosebumps and I really felt touched and felt sorry for Kane. Another way Citizen uses sound well is at the end of Susan Alexander’s opera. Kane is the last to get and clap the loudest while. everybody else. is just paying lip service. The sound of his clapping as opposed to the track on the movie is much louder and through it we as an audience are able to see how he feels X about the opera and Susan Alexander’s carrier overall. That is a feeling that Kane is trying to make her something she truly is not and he is starting to realize this but as, we know, he will never show this little inkling of realization and continue to pressure Susan until their nasty divorce.

Citizen Kane is one of the best movies ever and I as a student am able to see why. This is because of the way Welles uses camerawork and sound to his advantage. Kane is an immortal literary character and so too is his work.

Week of Feb. 1-7

This week in Film Study, I learned about editing and the various techniques of editing that make a movie a film. Something that stood out to me as something really interesting was the concept of discontinuity editing.

This technique interested me because most conventional movies try their hardest to make sure continuity is preserved. However with this concept of editing, all prior rules of continuity and editing are out of the window. For instance in order to show an action scene in XXX, the editor decided to show the same stunt three times from three different angles. I thought that this was a really different approach to the just standard slow motion explosion shot that other action movies seem to cling to like a baby to a bottle.

Another reason I think this is an interesting concept is its overall ability to tell a story. For instance if a director wanted to show significance of a certain or object, they might show that scene then show another action then jump back to where the actor is redoing that action. This shows that the action was important because it was important enough to repeat. Another way this is able to show a story is that through the use of jump cuts which are a form of discontinuity editing, it can show how a character has supernatural powers or is able to teleport. The movie Jumper does this very well. It is about a man named David who is capable to teleport anywhere instantly of “jump”. The movie shows this through the use of a jump cut which show the main character in one place and then in the next shot in a different place. This is very important to the story because this ability causes the government to go after him and like most movies in this similar vein, he wins.

The last reason I like this concept is the ability it has to be continuous or just an accident. For instance in a clip shown in class for the movie Goodfellas, it is in the funny how? where Joe Pesci,Ray Liotta and a couple other mobsters are in a restaurant and Pesci is telling a story about a job that he had been on. When he is done Liotta says that he’s funny. Pesci then asks funny how? and goes into a tirade against Liotta about the question of his humor comparing himself to a clown. Liotta is obviously befuddled and just says that he’s funny and a moment of absolute tension ensues with Pesci finally breaking it with a laugh and everybody bursting out laughing as it was just a joke. Throughout the entire scene, the editing does not keep to any certain continuity because throughout the scene Liotta’s glass keeps going up and down in a incongruent way. Another way that this scene doesn’t stick to any certain continuity is throughout the scene Liotta’s arm is all over the place. The reason for all of these seemingly odd blunders is because Scorsese wanted to focus on the story and the tension of the scene instead of a continuity.

Discontinuity editing can usually be a bad thing but can be a good thing when used in the right places. That is why this concept was so interesting to me .

Week of Jan.25-Jan.31

This week in Film Study I learned about the art of cinematography. Cinematography is the art of making motion pictures. More specifically I would like to talk about the use of light in the motion pictures. This is because I feel like this is the most important topic I have learned this week.

The use of light can make or break a scene. For instance a properly lit scene can in theory convey all the feelings that the director wants without any words. However a badly lit scene can and will cause the audience to not be able to follow what is going in the scene and confuse everybody. That is the ultimate fear of a cinematographer and a director in general.

One movie that I feel has really good lighting is Django Unchained, a film I reached during the course of the week. One scene in particular that I feel exemplifies this notion of good lighting is when we first get the chance to meet Django at the beginning of the film. In it Dr. Schultz played by Christoph Waltz is looking for a slave from the Karucken plantation, who happens to be Django himself. However the audience is able to know this because of the lighting that Tarantino uses to identify Django. When Schultz is asking the salves which one is from the Karucken plantation and the camera goes to a shot of the slaves, Django is slightly silhouetted by a back light. We as an audience are able to deduce that this salve is a major player in the story because of the way that he is lit. This is also important because the scene itself is set at night in the 1800s so the only source of light are oil lamps that the Peck brothers(slavers) kept with them. So the slight illumination of Django is a stark difference to the overall blackness of the night.

Another movie that I feel has really good lighting is Schindler’s List. This movie is just on another level than other modern movies because it is in black and white. When films are in black and white the story telling is conveyed not in colors but in the lighting itself. Throughout the film, Oskar Schindler’s face is usually veiled in shadow with a high light to dark ration. This is used to symbolize the various complexities of his character and how he struggles with being a good man during the time of the Nazis. Another thing this film does right in terms of lighting is the ability to establish certain characters in such a way that they seem important. For instance in the scene when Schindler is trying to bargain with Goeth, an important official in the Nazi Party. In it Goeth is illuminated in such a way that it establishes him as the leader of the group. He is also illuminated in such a way that the shadows show his ruthless side and his ruthlessness in general.

So in conclusion, lighting is of the more important concepts of cinematography because it can make or break a scene. Good lighting can stick with us and be an important storytelling technique. Bad lighting on the other hand can and will break a scene causing it to become confusing.

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Week of Jan.19-22

The topic of this week’s blog is introductions since this is my first one. My name is Justin Hamilton but you probably knew that from just looking at my blog name. I was born on February 8th, 2000 so that means that now I am 15 years old, almost 16 in about 3 weeks. My interests include video games, history, and movies. I am involved in the Drama program at Saint X, not as an actor but as a behind the scenes guy who builds the set and does all of the set changes and such. I am also involved in WSTX on occasion and the History Club. I aspire to be a pilot when I get out of college.

Now that all of the information that you could read from a Wikipedia entry about me is out of the way, I would like to tell why I chose to take this class. One of the major reasons is because this and acting were the only two classes I could find that didn’t have any written tests or quizzes which was a plus. However that is not the whole story as to why I took this class. The big reason why is because I love movies. I love to watch them and I love to critique them. However I don’t like to write them because I don’t have that much creativity and spare time. Something about movies I love is the escapism that they provide. Take Lord of the Rings for example. Even though that is also a very successful book series, it also makes a great trilogy of movies. Through the scenery and costumes I am able to escape from our world and be transported to Middle-Earth and follow Frodo and Sam on their epic-journey to destroy the One-Ring.

Another reason I like movies is similar to the first reason. It allows me to see a story from the protagonist’s eyes. A movie that comes to mind is Forrest Gump. In it the audience is able to see how Forrest’s dumb luck and overall good nature get him into many situations that we as normal can only dream of. We are able to see the journey that he goes through from early childhood all the way to when his son goes to school in the same place he did.

The last reason that I like movies is a bit exclusive to one genre, history and historical fiction. I like being able to see a story I have only read about in history come to lie. For instance a recent movie that I saw this weekend was The Last Emperor about the life and times of Puyi, the last Qing Emperor and the last Son of Heaven. Even though it is three hours, it really doesn’t feel like it. The story keeps you engaged and the protagonist, even though he is royalty is easily relatable in his quest for freedom during his time in the Forbidden City and his want for a better life for his country during turbulent times. My only complaint and it really isn’t a complaint is that it’s not in the native Chinese with subtitles. Even though it is a bit excessive, I really do like it when movies go for the extra layer of authenticity with language.

In conclusion, I really feel like movies in general are a good way of story-telling and are able to convey emotions unlike other media like books or just a television show. I also feel like this class will allow me to appreciate movies more fully and be able to critique them better.The topic of this week’s blog is introductions since this is my first one. My name is Justin Hamilton but you probably knew that from just looking at my blog name. I was born on February 8th, 2000 so that means that now I am 15 years old, almost 16 in about 3 weeks. My interests include video games, history, and movies. I am involved in the Drama program at Saint X, not as an actor but as a behind the scenes guy who builds the set and does all of the set changes and such. I am also involved in WSTX on occasion and the History Club. I aspire to be a pilot when I get out of college.