Film – Week 14 – Intro to Analysis

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Turner” by classic film scans is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Analysis gave me great freedom of emotions and fantastic confidence. I felt I had served my time as a puppet.”

Hedy Lamarr – Read about 1930s actress Hedy Lamarr-inventor of cell phones, Wi-Fi and GPS

SUMMARY

I studied other positions of filmmaking, mainly involving makeup and design of the setting and characters. Besides taking in my own interest’s, I’ve also been more active in socialising and reaching out to others I hav’nt been around for a long while.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN

I think this chart, most of all, is able to help us recognize the smaller things in life that we don’t take notice too often. Like doing little things for other people, instead of just killing time whenever you get the chance. Instead these kinds of side activities could remind us of what types of habits made us at home and happy, just for doing it. Recently I recognized my love of legos after blocking that sort of routine out of my mind during the pandemic. Lately after focusing on my mental health and recognizing the lack of trying anything outside of wasting time, I’ve been looking back to that sort of pleasure of enjoyment. All the stress and anxiety were feeling, I feel can be resolved by focusing on what we could do, instead of what we should do while also being productive at the same time.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

I’ve learned from the film I’ve watched more about the dedication in telling a story just through a character’s physical forms. The Pale man for example showed me what pure facism would look like if it were a fully formed thing or person. These kinds of character details make me appreciate that work that’s behind them even more, with telling exactly what a person may be like, just by looking at them.

A problem I’ve solved over this course is exploring different things with my time, whether they’d be small or benefiting others. For example, I’ve been building some lego’s and doing some drawing’s recently. Enjoying certain habits while also still being productive.

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

Reviewing a film of our own choosing I thought was very enjoyable to work on. Placing down our own comments and idea’s I think is a great way to understand the structure of film better than we already did. 

It was also good to go over articles about self care during this pandemic. Reading it helps me remind the vastness of struggle that’s going on in our world today, and I think self care articles like these are always helpful, especially today.

Film Analysis Worksheet: Week 15 TEMPLATE Film Analysis: Pan’s Labyrinth

The Pale Man (Pan's Labyrinth) | Slender Man Connection Wiki | Fandom

Summary

Pan’s Labrynth is a fantasy movie set during world war two. Unlke the recent film from the eighties that stared David Bowlie at the antogonist, this one stay’s more focused in the brutallity of war with gritty realism and mature, violent content.

Film Analysis

Pan’s Labyrinth
Year2006
DirectorEl Laberinto del fauno.
CountryCenrel Spain. 
GenreFantasy/Drama/War
If you could work on this film (change it), what would you change and why?I would balance the subjects of war and fantasy a little more. By adding extra plot driven elements evolving around the fantasy aspects of the story, because  the war aspect of it (though engaging) takes up the majority of the film, seemingly blocking out most of the fantasy elements. Becasue of this, it feels more like just another dramatic war film with little fantasy elemtns thrown in once in a while. Another thing I would change was the choice for the main character to eat the food at the pale man’s dinner table, even though a  charcater helping her on her destiny (the Faun) told her specificzlly not too. It feels out of nowhere and more like a device used so the pale man can wake up and pledge a temporary downfall for the main lead. If I was making this scene, I would first acknowlge why she may have eaten the food before hand. Maybe the supplies of  food were scarce at the camp and was’nt able to consume enough,  maybe she had a sickness, or maybe she saw the similarities between the monster and her stepfather Vidal that anger let her eat. Something that would make her decision on eating the food at the Pale man’s dinner table more reasonable. She should also be scared by it. The suspense of the scene kicks in with frightening images on the wall of the pale man devouring it’s victoms while it’s literally right there. Even if the faun did’nt tell her not to eat the food, she still should have realized the amount of raised red flags just from the task and setting alone of the scene. So it makes no sense why she would do this with the knowlege she has of the situation. The pale man incident also lead’s to a huge gap, filled with the dramatic and war elements of the story. The fantasy aspect does’nt show up for a while, until the faun suddenly gives the main character one more chance. It feel’s a little forced at that point. Between the gap, there’s a baby being born, a subplot involved with rebels against the antogonist of the film that I feel could be sliced down.

Film information can be found at imdb.com

As you view films, consider how the cuts, camera angles, shots, and movement work to create particular meanings. Think about how they establish space, privilege certain characters, suggest relationships, and emphasize themes. In addition to shot distances, angles, editing, and camera movement, note details of the narrative, setting, characters, lighting, props, costume, tone, and sound.

Ask yourself the following questions:

TOPICYOUR NOTES
1. Who is the protagonist?Ofelia
2. Who is the antagonist?Vidal
3. What is the conflict?Ofelia has to fulfill her destiny as majesty, but has to stay cautious from a violent driven captain who plans to wipe out the rebels seeking to help put an end to his wrath.
4. What is the theme or central, unifying concept? (summarize in one or two words)Fascism, fantasy.
5. How is the story told (linear, non-linear, with flashbacks, flash-forwards, at regular intervals)Straghtforward with seperate story lines coming together for the climax.
6. What “happens” in the plot (Brief description)?An eleven year old with a pregnant mother has to go through certain task’s to gain her role as majesty, while an outside rebellion plan’s to overthrow a sadistic leader.
7. How does the film influence particular reactions on the part of viewers (sound, editing,characterization, camera movement, etc.)? Why does the film encourage suchreactions?The film influences the veiwer to feel a life or death situation placed on the main lead, fantasy or not, she’s always at risk. Useing cetain camera angles, lighting and setting to establish this idea in order to gain the audinces full reaction to the stakes that have been set. This makes the story more engaging, because the veiwer would feel like there’s always somthing going on, that’s always a step closer to ending in tragedy.
8. Is the setting realistic or stylized? What atmosphere does the setting suggest? Do particular objects or settings serve symbolic functions?In the story, it combines fantasy with reality. There are certain scenes that are in depth of fantasy story telling, with mythical settings that are blocked from reality. However the majority takes place in a realistic setting in Centrel Spain with rebellion’s trying to fight back against a facist leader and a group of soldiers. The atmoshere of the real world is very insecure and isolated in this certain location, driving some of the characters over the edge, making the veiwer crave the fantasy aspect to eventually serve it’s perpose.
9. How are the characters costumed and made-up? What does their clothing or makeup reveal about their social standing, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age? How do costume and makeup convey character?Takes place during the 1940’s. Dressed in typical fasion that farmers whore and soldiers wore at the time. The main lead’s clothing is mainly green throughout the film, giving off her devotion as an explorer and love of nature. The sadistic captain where’s his uniform everytime he is above everybody else, but is vulnerable everytime he does’nt wear it.
10. How does the lighting design shape our perception of character, space, or mood?For Ofelia, the lighting is always exposing her whole face in the light, to give off the focus on who to stay behind. For Vidal, the ligthing would consistantly change to give off, his mood, whether he’s charming at first, or vicous the next. 
11. How do camera angles and camera movements shape our view of characters or spaces? What do you see cinematically?I see certain camera angles and movement’s in the film that help to display the mood, atmosphere, and character. Everytime time something seem’s out of place or dangerous, there’s always a dark sucluded enviroment that follow’s. From the shot’s I can see that the main focus is’nt just the world, or the coflict alone, but also a study on the characters and their struggles.
12. What is the music’s purpose in the film? How does it direct our attention within the image? How does it shape our interpretation of the image? What stands out about the music?The music in the film was meant to establich the intensity of the situation. Usually when the main leads are in control, it’s silent and not giving off the vibe of danger. For example, there’s a scene where Captain Vidal and his soldiers take on a group of rebels, accompanied by no music and fous camera movement on Vital gives off the flowing action and eventual victory of the scene for him. Another scene that’s a contrast from this, is the Pale man waking. A sudden jolt of intense music fill’s the scene from the Pale man’s first movement, which carries throughout the rest of the scene.
13. How might industrial, social, and economic factors have influenced the film? Describe how this film influences or connects to a culture?WW2 influenced it to establish a brutall setting that makes the risks higher in the film even higher.
14. Give an example of what a film critic had to say about this film. Use credible sources and cite sources.Example: “The Shawshank Redemption Movie Review (1994) | Roger Ebert.” All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2015.Roger Ebert say’s”Pan’s Labyrinth” is one of the greatest of all fantasy films, even though it is anchored so firmly in the reality of war. On first viewing, it is challenging to comprehend a movie that on the one hand provides fauns and fairies, and on the other hand creates an inhuman sadist in the uniform of Franco’s fascists.” https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-pans-labyrinth-2006
15. Select one scene no longer than 5 minutes that represents well the whole film and shows relevant cinematic elements. Write a one-sentence description of the scene and record the time of the scene.Example: from 1:05:00 to 1:10:00.Explain why you chose this scene.PLACE THE TIME STAMP FROM THE SCENE HERE… Example: 00:00:00 – 00:05:00 Pale man scene. 1:01:50 – 56:56I chose this scene, not only because of how popular the Pale man is, but also how it’s supposed to represent physical facism. I got the details from a certain video. In a tweet from Guillermo del Toro, he states back in 2017, “These are pale man times.” He’s referring to the political figures today that represent it. Throughout the film were shown more and more from the main antagonist’s how similar they are to the pale man, from eating at a dinner table which no one can touch, to his greed, and his violence. There’s alot of depth to this scene after I’ve watched the video as seen below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkpbLxvusTg
16. In the selected scene: write a sentence for each of the elements below to justify why this scene best represents the film:
a. Screenwriting:Build up, from the detail to the description of the design, and to the context that was layed down before it, letting the veiwer more engaged of what’s to come.
b. Sound Design:Other worldly, loud to the slightest touch, like in a fully closed area, making us realize the danger even more.
c. Camera Movements/Angles:There steady, focussed and absorbing of the atmosphere.
d. Light Setup:Light foregrounds and dark backgrounds, like the Godfather movies.
e. Soundtrack/Score:Intense, and tell’s the audience what to feel imediatly.
18. What’s the socio-cultural context of this film?Facsim represented in one monster and enviroment.

Film – Week 13 – Changes

Mad Hatter Tea Cups

“The most honest form of filmmaking is to make a film for yourself.”

― Peter Jackson,  Link

SUMMARY

I’m trying to balance my work with the holidays. I hav’nt been very successful, but I’m trying my best. This week, I’ve done none of this stuff on here this week, it’s all last minute on one day. I can’t remember anything before writing this. Just being honest.

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

The thought I have has to do with my mentel health. In a sense I’ve been more isolated and hardly ever leave the house. The distress is the amount of work Ihave. It becomes very overwhelming, to the point where I don’t feel like working anymore, and then I don’t get anything done. The level is higher on the amount I have to deal with. I already have enough things going on in my head, including finally writing a script, and returning to my old habits which ‘ve abandoned overtime. The distortion is my distracted and unorganized nature. I can;t figure out what I should do first. After some thinking, I have come up with better conclusions to the source of my problem besides just myself. I recall getting sick, and being unable to work no matter how hard I tried, yet I constantly blame myself for not working hard enough. If I focus on more logical and occurring aspects of my assignments instead of myself, I think I can dodge the negative impacts I have.

After examining the automatic thinking process, I’ve realized how there are so many other alternatives to calming our mentel state then there appears to be. Challenging my negative thoughts feels like taking a whole new different route on a road you have’nt even bothered to take and, however it turns out, it’s still better than what you are used to dealing with. As I write this down, I try not to think of this as an assignment, but more like a means to release my inner thoughts that block those negative feelings instead. 

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVE

I learned what kind of experimental stages Hollywood went through, looking at film examples like Citizen Kane, The Kid, and others that made an impact with their new techniques. Also learned the impact Charie Chaplin had in the film buisness and how many people were inspired by his comedic orignality and acting. Watching the evolution of film was a nice glimpse of how movies influence us today. 

One problem I solved was pushing back the amount of pressure I put up with. I point out the main reason why I’m behind on so much work which I benefit from using to avoid that pressure.  

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

The automanic articles I think can be very helpful to people who have very low standards about themselves. It may help encourage others to think differently about themselves and their struggles when they read the text. The Hollywood dream was entertaining, but  don’t think I’ll be remembering much of the notes I put down afterwards.

Film – Week 11 – Updating

Workflow – Mind Like Water

“‘Be shapeless and formless.. like water’ (Bruce Lee)” by Akinini.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Have a mind like water.”

― David Allen,  GTD

SUMMARY

What I was able to accomplish this week was a series of useing my own critical responses of veiwing something while also diving deeper into different habits I have. PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

After reading the article involving D.O.S.E, I can say it’s rather refreshing to get a clear statement on some of the happy times that we feel once in a while. Reading this article I think can help me and others navigate towards our destinations with it’s positives while also what it says about abusing them. For example: When I cme up with an idea that get’s me excited to write and I know exactly where I wanna be heading, I instead become withdrawn from it and too confident that I don’t even feel like I have to do work on it at all in that moment. The idea itself and a couple of written lines that flow nicely to me is like a short fuse for procrastinating. I like how D.O.S.E acknowledges these issues and I think with some practice, I can fully stay engaged while still being positive.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

What I learned from this week, were the steps in production of a film. It helped me open my eyes to the work ethic put into the process that goes into making the film the people in the video are making. I also learned the different transitions our minds dive into when we’re happy, what the advantages are and what aloung with it’s costs. From the D.O.S.E article I was able to figure in some cases why I felt the way I felt and think of solutions to drive myself into a stage with more workflow.

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

Alot of the sneakolt requirements in understanding film, was informative, but kind of dragged with some of the things the reader was supposed to fill out to move on. I like reading about D.O.S.E, and the documentary “The story of film, an Odyessey.

Story of film, episode 2

1918-1928: The Triumph of American Film…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Film:An_Odyssey#Episode_2-_The_Hollywood_Dream

Story of Film – Episode 1 – Birth of the Cinema

D-Day: The Normandy Invasion

Episode 1 – Birth of the Cinema[edit]

Introduction

1895-1918: The World Discovers a New Art Form or Birth of the Cinema

Notes, Episode one, taken from Wikipedia website

Ideas drive cinema with it’s inspiration in storytelling.

Edison had a hunch that cinima was a dark room with light. Lumere factory was where the first movie was shot. Audiances got bored with the same old thing. Cinema started experimenting more.

Parrelell editing is happening at the same time. Used for suspense and build tension.

Reverse angle shot made cameraman free to shoot at any angle. Made actors the ones that were being filmed, rather then just the set.

Florence Lawrence was the first movie star. Sycology became a driving force from the movie star.

Beniam Christansan Experimented with light. One of the two men that helped form hollywood. Allowed to break the law with filmmaking.

The hundred eighty degree rule makes the audiance believe the characters are interacting with each other and the set.

Hollywwod became a magent for people who could’nt find work. Lot’s more were excepted.

Griffith conveyed emotion with cinematogrophy. Praised the Klu Klux Klan with the emotions of film. Racism was seen all over movies, causing black audiance’s members to be attacked at clubs and the Klan’s membership expanding.