A Real Blind Date Camera Critique

I watched a short film called A Real Blind Date. This short film is directed by Rachel Clyde in 2009. The full length of the short film is seven minutes. Real Blind Date- Short film

This short film is a about 2 girls walking on the streets of San Francisco where they see a guy they like. The catch is that one of the girls is blind because she doesn't like to wear her glasses. The other girl would grab her arm as they follow the guy. The guy gets on the bus and they follow him, but they end up losing him. Then the girls try to find him by separating and the the blind girl has trouble. In the end the girls don't find the guy. In the short film the director did not give the characters any names.

Rack focus- establishing shot

low angle shot

 In the first scene the camera is blurry. The audience does not see the characters' faces. Then there is a rack focus from blurry vision to clear. The rack focus represents the girl that is blind. Since she didn't wear her glasses her vision is blurry. The first shot in the scene is a establishing shot (long shot). The audience sees foreground, mid-ground, and background. We see the cars, the girls, and then the houses and trees behind them. After the rack focus takes place, the audience does not see the characters' faces, instead they see their feet. This picture on the right is low angle shot. This is a normal lens because humans can see this view with the naked eye. The audience still doesn't see the girls.

CU- of the girl peeking at the guy

 As they walk there is a transition from place to place. The transition used was a bus. When that transition passed, we saw the girls in close up shots near a bus station. This signifies that the characters are in a new place, and the bus was the transition.

ECU- blind girl

Guy- camera movement was jerky

When the girl saw the guy the camera shots began to change. There was extreme close ups of their faces and eyes. When the girl looked through the the window to peek at the guy, the camera movement was shaky. This camera movement shows that the girl is moving her head a lot. When the blind girl asked her friend about what the guy was doing, the camera movement was a panning shot. When the girl was peeking at the guy, the camera movement was also shaky.

Girl holds the blind girl's hand

Then the guy goes into the bus and the girls follow him. During the bus ride the girls make eye contact with the guy and he does the same thing too. When the bus stopped, the guy got off and the girls followed him. The audience knows that the girl is blind from the  start of the film, but when the other girl holds her hand, it gives more evidence. This shot above is good shot because the audience can see foreground mid-ground and background.

Dutch Angle

ELS

The girls don't know where the guy went. The shot on the top is a extreme long shot because we could see foreground, mid-ground, and background. The picture on the top is a dutch angle. This shot is cool because the camera is tilted so that the frame is not parallel to the horizon.
Near the end of the film, the girls split up to find the guy. The blind girl can't see, so the camera is blurry. Then as the other girl walk toward her the camera shifts from blurry to clear.
There was lots of parallelism. Since the girl is blind, many of the camera shots were blurry. Every time there is a new scene, the angle of the camera would be titled. This is the style of the film. When there is a transition, the transition is parallel to the narrative story. The camera work was really good because in the bus the camera movement was shaky. So the camera movement connects with the narrative because when your on a bus, it is going to be a bumpy ride especially in San Francisco.

Critique of IB Oral Documentary

My Movie

The movie, I chose was "Unstoppable", and I reviewed my own work. I was clear and had a lot of information. It wasn't that organized, but you can understand it. I feel like I talked about the film as a whole, instead of the extract. I did a good job evaluating lighting, editing, sound, and cinematography. I didn't talk about the target audience. I covered all the material, but I might need a little more analyse of my evidence, so it could sound more valuable. Overall, I did a good job. The score I give myself is a 20 because I still feel that my film terminology is undeveloped. Also, I need to focus more on the extract than the film as a whole. I didn't give much meaning when I explained my extract.

Jennifer Lewis's Oral Presentation

 I reviewed the oral presentation named "Million Dollar Baby", and this presentation is made by Jennifer Lewis. She did a good job explaining the lighting. I liked how she said that dark lighting shows the character's persona and how the characters persona is hidden and still didn't express their personalities to the audience yet. This was a good comment because, she didn't just say that dark lighting means the character is sad, she went deeper. The comment about gender was good because in general, women are seen weak, but in this movie they seem powerful then men. There are a lot of closeups to express the character's feelings. She made a good comment when the character sticks the needle in the woman's body, the audience sees the heart meter go down. That symbolizes that she is dying. The editing shows the action than the reaction of the characters, which is a good point because it connects to the character's emotions. Overall, she did a good job explaining social, political, and economic factors. She should of talked more about cinematography, because she was above the surface. Good comment about how relationships impact our lives, and in this movie the character's relationships impact their live. She did a good job, and I give her an A. I give her the score of 21 she was very clear and she did a good job evaluating, but she didn't talk a lot about specific topics, like cinematography and sound. She also didn't say how the extract relates to the film as a whole.

IB Oral: Narrative-Film Language and Representation

 Narrative

How is this film constructed according to narrative/ story being told?

Frank jumping to the next car

Unstoppable is about a run- away train carrying a cargo of toxic material, and Will and Frank try to stop the train before it destroys the city. The extract picked begins from 01:19:00 to 01:24:00. In this part of the movie, Will and Frank must slow the train speed because they are about to encounter a path that is a 15 per mile zone. The train is going about 70 miles per hour. The train is on the curved path and a few materials fall off the train. After the train passes the curve, Frank tries to jump between the cars, but the big gap between the cars stopped him. So, Will jumps off the train into a red truck driven by Nedney. News helicopters are all over the scene. In this extract we see reactions of Will's family, Frank's family, and other people.

Is the narrative organized by a plot or time sequence, or some other way?
This movie is organized as a time sequence.

Does the film use other principles than narrative sequence as a structure (for instance, an argument)?
Well this movie is a narrative sequence because the plot is only one day. The run- away train begins in the morning and the film kept going with that sequence. There wasn't a change in day, it was just one continuous plot. This film was simple because it was in a continuous time sequence.



What is the nature of our engagement with the story or characters?
The nature of our engagement with the story is that the audience will know that the two protagonists, Will and Frank will stop the run away train. For example, in the extract, the audience knew that when Will was about to jump in the back of the trunk, he will make it. To jump into the back of the truck is hard, but we know that he was going to make it. Its the same thing with the story, the audience knows that Frank and Will will stop the run- away train.

Film Language and Representation

How are the characters and issues represented?
The characters communicate with the audience pretty well because, the audience could feel the emotion or tension of the character's situation. For example, in the extract, Will and Frank communicate with each other when the train is approaching the curve. The characters are very stressed, and while speaking with each other their voices are loud. The audience feels a tension because we don't know if the train will pass through the curve safely. The characters in that scene represented the situation really well. Another example is when we see the headquarters. The tension of the railroad workers is represented thoroughly. The issue is represented clearly, because we know that the train is holding hazardous material. In the extract, the train encounters a 15 per mile zone, but is going about 70 miles per hour. This shows that the issue is that if the train falls, many people will be harmed.


What is the style and effect of acting and performance?
The style of the acting is simple, the actors didn't have a lot of dialogue. For example in the extract, Will an Frank communicate with each with a couple of words. Especially the part where the train is on the curve. The actors affected the story because their performance was so realistic, which gave the movie a sense of tension and mystery. The whole film was based more on action, than the style of the actors. Will and Frank did a good job expressing their feelings toward the audience. In the extract, as the train encounters the curve, Will and Frank are communicating with each other, and their voices sound scared and the voices were loud. This gave the audience a feeling of tension just by seeing the actors performance.


How is the meaning created by camera angles, shots, and camera movement?
There are lot of close-ups to the actors. For example, in the extract there is a close-up on the Will and Frank's faces, and when the actor talks it goes to an extreme close-up. This creates meaning because extreme close- up shots show emotion or tension of what the actor is conveying.There is a lot of panning shots and this create meaning to intensify or create mystery. For example in the extract, the train is close to the curve, the camera is panning, this shows or gives mystery because the audience is anticipating what come next. In this film there is a lot of traveling shots. These shots are used so the camera can follow the action. Since this a an action movie, this shot is used a lot. The camera movement is stable in some part of the movie, then it gets jerky, when there is a lot of action. For example in the extract, while and during the train is passing the curve, the camera movement is jerky. This creates meaning because it gives us a sense of how fast the train is going and it shows that its very dangerous. During the action scenes, there are lot of crane shots. In the extract, the crane shot is used to show all angles of the area to give the sense to the audience about everything going on. Majority of camera angles used were high and low angles. For example when the train was on the curve, there was a low angle. This makes the train look bigger and more dangerous. There are also low angle shots to show the rails of the train. This shot shows how fast the train is going.


How is the meaning created through proxemics, territorial design, or open or closed forms?  
In the beginning of the movie there was a lot of open forms. The only parts that were closed forms is when Will and Frank were talking about their problems in the train. The rest of the movie was open form. For example in the extract, as the train encounters the curve the audience sees different angles. There are also shots of the actors or people. The shots weren't always on the Will and Frank, it was more on the setting, the train, the people, helicopter, etc. The territorial design was mostly a path of train tracks. But from those train tracks the audience can see every angle.   


How is meaning created by editing and sequencing?
Meaning is created by editing because the audience could feel and see the tension and the action with a variety of shots. This movie is classical cutting because it is a action movie. For example, after the train passes the curve we see the emotion of other the actors. All of them started to clap, and Will and Frank had a smile on their face. This editing sequence lets us see all the emotions form the majority of the actors. It creates meaning to show that this is an action movie, and action movies must have variety of shots and fast paste cuts.


How is meaning created by lighting, shade, and color?
The weather of the setting is cloudy. A cloudy day creates slow fall off and transparent shadows. There is a lot of high color temperature. For example in the extract, when the camera shows Will's face in the train, the color is blue and that shows high temperature. The gloomy color represents a bad day, since there is a run away train that can cause harm to the people and the city. The color blue is seen a lot, and that gives a sense of sadness. Color blue is used more because it represents the sadness of Will because he has issues with his wife. Also, Frank because he forgot to call his daughter on her birthday, and she is mad at him. The color of train is red. The color red represents dangerous.


How is meaning created by sound and music?
There is lots of non-synchronous sounds. For example in the extract, the train is passing the curve and there is a lot of sound added after post production to make the movie sound more realistic. The music showed a sense of mystery and sadness. For example in the extract, the train is on the curve and we hear a sad tone a its not played loud. The other sounds that were played over the music were the sounds of the train and Frank and Will talking with each other. The sound of the train was more directed to the film than the music. In the extract, some material fall off the train, the sound of the materials were non synchronous, and the audience could hear the that sound more than the background music. Throughout the whole movie, there was non synchronous sounds and foley sounds.


How is meaning created by location, set design, and mis en scene?
The location of train shows a path, which could mean dangerous. Th train is moving along that path, and its holding dangerous material. For example in the extract, when the train is on the curved path, material fell off the train, this shows mystery because the train might fall off the curve. The location was a gloomy day, and that shows sadness or represent a bad day. 


Does the film make use of symbols, metaphors, or allegories? Share are they and how do they work within the context of the film? 
There is the symbol of family. Since Will and Frank had issues with family before going to work, their families never suspected that something will go bad today with their loved one. For example in the extract, Will and Frank are in the train as the its on the curve. Will's family comes to the scene and are terrified because Will is on the dangerous train. Frank's daughters are at work, and they are watching the news to make sure their father is o.k. 

 How is meaning created by technical elements such as production design, mise en scene, composition, special effects (matte paintings, models or animation, computer generated images….etc.)?

There wasn't any computer generated images because the director Tony Scott, wanted to make this movie realistic. For example, when Frank is on top of the train, the train is actually moving. I though the special effects created meaning because it emphasized more on the action. For example in the extract, there were shots of the the bottom of the train, and there were sparks of fire, so that was a special effect. The color of train represents Will's and Frank's lives because they are having trouble with their families, and their life is running through their hands, and they can't do anything to stop it. When they stop the train, they catch their lives because in the film, Will reunites with his wife and son. Frank is happy with his two daughters.

 What emotional information is conveyed through the film making process?
Since this movie is based on a real event, this movie is emotional. The emotional information that is conveyed through the film making process is the thought of the people that were affected by the real historical event. The film makers has to take in the consideration of the people in Ohio that were affected by the run away train. In the extract, Will's and Frank's families were affected because their loved ones are trying to stop a dangerous train. 

Oral Presentation- Part 2 - Historical and Socio-Cultural (Unstoppable)

II. Historical and Institutional Factors-

1. What are the institutional factors that may be important? As a production of a specific producer (i.e. Walt Disney), institution (Disney Studios), specific economic factors (Studio Film), or a political background? (U.S. politics 1959) : The economic factors of this film is connected to today's factors. The movie is aware of the recession, and of the insecurity and resentment among older workers, and how new comers want to take their jobs.  The political background is about just thousands of tons of iron, fuel and combustible toxic chemicals barreling like a rocket through industrial Pennsylvania. The movie is trying to show, that the boss of train wants to protect his money, so he doesn't want to give Will and Frank a chance to stop the train. Social factors are seen through this movie because Will and Frank are not having a good day. Frank forgot to call his daughter because it was her birthday, and his daughter won't speak to him. Will has personal issues with is family and on his first day of work, some guys were being mean to him. This movie has a mix of political, social, and economic factors that play a big role in this movie. Work cited : http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/reviews/2010/unstoppable.html
2. What is the film's historic background? As a document of its time, as a part of history of film? This film is based on a real story(picture above). On May 16, 2001,  a runaway freight train that barreled through 66 miles of northwestern Ohio with no one aboard contained hazardous material. This material was toxic if you inhale, digest, or touches you. The train had nobody on it, and it was going as fast as 47 miles per hour. The train was a no- man train for two hours, but a railroad worker jumped on the train and pulled its breaks. The railroad train was going 10 miles per hour, when the guy jumped on the train. Work cited: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/05/15/runaway.train.05/. Since this movie was made in 2010, the director wanted to make this true story sound more frightening, because in the movie, the train was going 40 miles per hour when Will jumped on the train.

III: Socio- Cultural Context
What is the film's socio- cultural context? 
as work from a specific country: This movie was released in the United States and released in Spain, but it was in English. 


as a work from a specific cultural: This movie is from an American culture because this movie relates to the run away train in Ohio, in 2001. The director Tony Scott, didn't make it boring he made the hazardous cargo  deeply concerning and this elevated the film to more than just another train film. Work cited: http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-lansing/unstoppable-not-just-another-train-film-review-1


as a work representing a specific part of its society: This movie is more of American society, because after a conflict and that conflict is resolved, the press would ask the heroes questions and it would be all over the news. In this film, we see this because when Will and Frank stop the train the press surrounds them. While they are trying to stop the train the film shows shots of the news. This movie is also American because, the white guy, Will gets injured and can't stop the train so Frank the black guy has to stop the train, but Frank had to jump on the train, and the jump was too far. So Will had to jump from a moving pick up truck and get on the train. So he stopped the train. Technically, Will was the hero because he stopped the train. Work cited: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/guess_what_is_unstoppable_movi.html


as a work made for a specific audience: This audience is made for people who like train movies, and or like action movies.

the actual bridge in Ohio seen in the movie Unstoppable

as a work made for a specific reason: This movie was made to tell the story of the Ohio run away train in 2001. Scott wanted to retell this story, but it was more dramatic, than what actually happened. This was also made to inform people that hazardous materials are dangerous to humans. Scott showed this idea throughout the whole film by showing the company's concerns and the railroad workers. Scott wanted to show that this actual story is scary because the actual run away train in Ohio could of killed many people by the hazardous material. Scott executed this in the movie very well.

Sound Design- Short Film Treatment

Jenna Fontaine and Jenevieve Rantisi: Sound Design- Short Film Treatment

Let Me In...title still in progress

Log-line: A girl who is home alone becomes a victim of her own mind when she hears a strange voice beckoning her to “let go of the fear.”  

General Flow/Scipt:

The screen is black. We hear a furious tapping noise. Then there is a hand, white against a dark table and casting a shadow. We see a multitude of fast angles, but never the face of the person whom the hand belongs to. The tapping stops, and the camera lands on a girl’s face. We see a close up of the girl’s face, with wild eyes searching. We hear her thoughts: She left me for one night. Just one night...

We see a full shot of

Girl: the small, dark room she is in.

...And now I’m here. Now I’m here...

There is a dull office with a man at a desk sitting across from a woman. The man looks tired and is dressed in a suit. The woman looks distraught and her eyes are looking into space.

Girl: ...At least it’s quiet now.

The man is writing on a piece of paper. He looks up.

Detective: [bored tone] What were you doing while your daughter was at home?

After a moment, the detective coughs. We see the lady close up jerking her head to look at him.

Woman: I left her for one night...

We zoom in all the way into the girl’s eye. We still hear the tapping

Woman: ...Just one night.

We zoom out of a clock set at an evening time and track over to the same woman preparing to leave a house. There is a still soft tapping of the girl’s hand on a table in the background.

Woman: I know I don’t usually go out at night, but work’s been so hectic. I really need a break.

Girl: It’s alright, Mom. I understand.

Mom: Are you sure? I know how you feel about being home alone at night.

Girl: [whispers] It’s alright.

Mom: [sigh] Okay. Hey I’ll order you a pizza! Just cheese?

She puts some money on the banister.

Girl: [quietly] Thanks. [frantic whisper] Lock the door!

Mom: Will do. Love you!

The girl, fear in her eyes, nods in reply. We hear the mother’s footsteps going down a flight of stairs as we linger on the girl’s face. She walks over to the top of the stairs when it closes, listening. She hears the deadbolt click and smiles a bit.

She is sitting cross-legged on a couch with all three lights on. She is absorbed in the television, but her expression is neutral. She jumps at the sound of some people chatting next door. She shakes her head and returns to the TV. Then there is an unintelligible whisper. The girl sighs and turns up the volume on the TV. But the loudness of the whispering dominates the TV. She presses mute, and the whispering stops.

The girls face twists in confusion and she turns off the TV. She gets up and walks over to the next room, a dark portion of the house. The whispering continues.

Voice: [voice of girl, distorted] Come. Come. Let the fear go and be free. It’s easy.

The girl turns on the light, but the voice stops. She turns it off again and the voice starts again, repeating the previous lines. The girl steps out into the dark room and continues, looking for the source.

Girl: [franticly] Mom. Mom! Is that you? Stop it and come out.

Voice: Forget about Mom. You don’t need her. Just come. Come. Let the fear go. Let me in and be free. It’s easy.

The girl runs to her room, turns on the light, and locks the door behind her. The voice begins to overlap. She sits in the corner, eyes shut, hands over her ears, rocking back and forth.

Girl: [frantic whisper]: Shut up. Shut up! [she begins to cry] Shut up! Shut up! Shu...

There is a loud knock on the door. The girl jerks up, alert. The whispers stop. Then there is a single whisper.

Voice: Just do it! Stop the fear for once.

The girl, neutral-faced, stands up, goes into another bedroom, opens a drawer, takes out a gun (fake no worries!) and walks slowly to the door, hand trembling. She slowly turns the deadbolt, opens the door, points the gun at the pizza man,

Voice: Let me in and be free.

Pizza man: Hey, wha...

Bang bang. The girl smiles madly.

Girl: [distorted voice] See, it’s easy.

Zoom in to the girl’s wild eye.

Zoom out of her eye in the dark room again. The girl is still tapping furiously.

Voice: You thought I’d gone. [tapping stops] Wrong. You live your life in fear, so I’m taking it.

Girl: [desperate]: Leave me alone!

Girl: [distorted voice]: [chuckle] Never.

The girl smiles madly. Fade to black.

Sound Design plays and important role in the development of the conflict/character because the distorted voice is what leads the girl to go crazy and kill. The interior monologue is also meant to give a sense of intrigue. It is important to the setting because the girl is alone in the house and the dark room. The subtext is emphasized with the italicised words as well as the captions, especially with the frantic whispering that demonstrates the girl’s fear. We will have foley sound effects for the pen scratching, the deadbolt locking, some of the tapping, the TV, the distant chattering, and the (fake!) gun going off. The rhythmic match will be associated with the opening shots when we see the girl at different angles, but not her face. The sound bridge will be used a few times, such as when we hear the girl finishing her thought in the beginning when the girl says “At least it’s quiet now,” when the mom says “Just one night,” and the tapping noise during flashbacks/forwards. The most obvious leitmotif is the evil twin’s voice. We also associate her with the tapping of her hand because of her anxiety. When there is tapping, we know it’s the “good” girl, but otherwise we depend on the distorted voice to know for sure she’s not. Music will also be added to accompany the different personalities: evil or good. For example, sad music will fade in after we are shown the first shot, but during the very last shot there will be dark music. That will be added in the 2-column script (dialogue was just really important, so we put it in the general flow).

Textual Analysis: Part 1

Unstoppable

The movie I will be doing my oral on is the movie called Unstoppable. Unstoppable, directed by Tony Scott, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine is about a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals. Pits an engineer and his conductor in a race against time. They're chasing the runaway train in a separate locomotive and need to bring it under control before it derails on a curve and causes a toxic spill that will decimate a town. First I will be talking about the genre of this movie and the intended audience.




1. What tradition or genre is it in? This movie is an action, drama, and suspense movie, but mostly action and suspense. This is a action movie because througout the whole movie Frank and Will try to chase and stop a run away train. It is a suspense genre because the audience is always on their feet because they don't know if the actors will stop the train in time before it decimates a town. For example there is this one scene where we see a train with kids and the audiences is scared that the runaway train might crash into the train with the kids. The whole time, this movie was suspenseful.
   



Kids screaming on the train created suspense.


2. What are the features determining genre? The cinemetography determines the genre of action, because the shots have lots of different angles. As the train would move the cinemetography would be shaky. The cinemetography also determines that the genre is suspenseful, because there is different angles of shots that make the audience know what is coming next. This movie has a little drama in it because Will and Frank have family issues. The features that determine the genre of drama is when Frank and his daughter had a fight. Another feature that determines the genre of drama is the actor's emotions in the scene. For example, Will was telling Frank about his problem with his family. As sitting in the audience, the viewers feel like they are listening to him speak to them. It was very emotional.




lots of camera moveement


3. What other work might it be connected to? Run-away Train  is a 1985 film about two escaped convicts and a female train worker who are stuck on a runaway train as it barrels through snowy desolate Alaska. This connects to Unstoppable because there is also a run-away train. Both movies have two people that try to save the train from people. Both movies have emergency alert so people won't get hurt on the train track.
  



Frank on top of the train going between 50- 100 m/p/h


4. Who made this? Why? Tony Scott made this movie and he made it because he wanted to shoot the movie in a real setting. He did this to show that the train is the "beast". Scott wanted the movie to be in actual real setting. In the begining of the movie, the train was going 50 m/p/h and at the end of the movie the train was going 100 m/p/h. He wanted the actors to actually be on top of the train while it was moving. He trained the actors, so his movie would be realistic. He also wanted to have the story line in the movie as the actor were on the train. He said it was "dangerous". He wanted to make this movie more realistic because he wanted the viewers to always be off the edges of their seats.




Will with his family after stopping the train


5. What can we tell about its' creators? I can tell that the creators of this movie wanted a real life setting of the whole movie. Even when the actor was on top of the train, the train was moving in real life. The creators also wanted the audience to stay on the edge of their feet because the whole movie, you don't now what is going to come up next. The creators didn't also want real action, but they wanted to show the background or personalities of Frank and Will. Since the movie was about the train, the creators gave us the best way to learn about the actors. For example, before Will gets the train job, the audience sees that he has trouble with his wife and son. The same ting with Frank, he has a fight with his daughter. The creators wanted the audience to see the action of the train, and the emotions of the actors.




train footage


6. How does it fit within the director's other work? Does it share significant narrative or thematic concerns? Does it share particular visual or technical elements? In Unstoppable, Scott had good cinemetography. The actors faces were in exreme close ups, and the train footage is very in depth, because the audiences sees everything as they were watching it in person. In another movie he made called "The Hunger" had good cinemetography beecause he added his own style. Another movie that relates to this movie is Man on Fire" because it is an action movie based on a real story. He shares lots of narrative concerns because he made movies about trains, cars, and about pilots. He liked to have action movies. The most common actor he casts is Denzel Washington.
7. What is the film's theme? The theme of this movie is that life can run out of your hands when making the wrong choices. For example, Frank had a fight in the morning before the run-away train begins. The same thing with Will, he wanted to see his family but his wife didn't let him. These two characters made mistakes, and they didn't think about the rest of the day. They could of been killed trying to stop the train. That very same day, they had fights with their loved ones. This shows that the theme of the movie is to not make a msitake you will regret, because you don't know what is going to happen to you or that loved one.
8. What is the target audience? How does it adress its audience? This movie is PG-13. The target audience would be for teenagers from 14- 17 years old, to maybe 20-23 years old. This movie has lots of action and it is about trains. Lots of teenagers like to watch action movies. The targeted audience would be for people who like trains or run away trains. This movie addresses the audience by making the audience stay on the edge of their seat. This movie makes the audience suspenseful about the next shot.

Bibliography

• http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Best-Tony-Scott-Movies-Of-His-Career&id=5047962
• http://moviesbybowes.blogspot.com/2010/01/strange-and-brilliant-career-of-tony.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_1_QKYwMIc

Hurt Locker- Film Response

In class last week, we watched the movie Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the first women to win Best Director, and this movie also won Best Picture, which beat the move Avatar. This movie is about three United State men who are on the same team for Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. In the movie we see these three characters try to overcome mental and physical problems because of the war, and it was difficult for them to go back and live in their own normal lives.

1. Opening Remarks
The opening began with a quote, and the quote had the phrase "war is a drug", at first I didn't really think about this phrase until the movie ended, because one of the soldiers, James, was talking about how he loves only one thing and he can't let go. I think that since this character in in love with war, it is a drug to him, because he can't let it out of his life. I also thought that the first opening scene was interesting because there was a lot of camera movement, and when one of the soldiers tried to disable a bomb, we can hear the soldier breathing. When the first bomb in the movie went off, the shots were very interesting. Like when we see the smoke, the camera cuts to the dirt, and we can only hear the dirt, then when it cuts to the car, we can hear the medal on the car. I thought that the opening scene made the movie sound and look real.

2. Context
a) Place the film: The film was shot in Jordan within miles of the Iraqi border, and I think the director chose this place to shoot because it would make the setting look real. Also my mom's relatives live in Jordan, and I have been there before, and I did not notice that this setting was in Jordan. So I give credit for their mis en scene, because they did a good job with the setting and props to make it look more real.
i) Director's Work: I think that the director did a good job with have a good setting to shoot this film. The director also had good extras, like for example the boy, Bekkum, because that boy helped us learn that Eldridge was being nice and had a little attachment to this boy. It helps the audience see the relationships with the soldiers and the people living in the area.
ii) Time when made: This film was made in 2008, but it premiered in a Venice Film Festival, after it was sent to America in 2009. This is a modern movie, since the war is still going on until right now.
iii) Relations to other films: The camera movements in this movie remind me of the movie Amelie, because in Amelie there was different variety of shots and had lots of camera movements. Hurt Locker had lots of camera movements too.
B) Place the Extract
i) Position in plot: It's based on personal feelings about soldiers. The plot tries to show us that soldier are mentally and physically affected by war, for example, Eldridge always thought that he was going die, and used to talk to the doctor about his feelings. The plot tells us that soldiers in war feel different when they go live their regular lives.

Camera angle is an extreme closeup when the characters reveal their emotions

ii) Thematic Threads: One theme of this movie is the name Hurt Locker. I think this name symbolizes the locker each soldier has when that soldier dies. Because when the soldier in the opening scene dies, his personal belonging are put in a locker, which is sent home to his family. It's called a hurt locker because the person that is going to receive the locker is going to be hurt and sad since their soldier has died.

3. Setting, Acting, Costume

a) Visual Style: This movie won Best Picture in 2009, and I think that they deserve this award because of the visual style. For example, when James was looking into the burned car, he ripped open the inside of the car seats. At the same time the camera was cutting back and forth to James actions and the other soldier with him (parallel action). I this the style is classical cutting because we have different variety of shots and lots of reaction shots. I thought the visual style was very good, because that's why it made the movie more interesting to watch.
b) Iconography: I don't there was lots of icons or symbols that I seen in the film. Maybe one icon would be the mosque because its the religion of the people living in that area.
c) Actors: I thought that the actors did a good job, because at the end when Sansborn and James were talking about their emotions, I felt like it was real, and I felt sad. The actors did a good job as acting like soldiers when in danger like when there was a suicide bombing but James couldn't diffuse the bombs off the man. I felt that there was a lot of emotion when James was talking to the man. I liked how the actors had different sides to them because they showed the audience many different faces.
d) Production design: The production design was well made, especially the production designs for the bomb. I felt like I was actually seeing a real bomb explode,or when the soldiers went into this building and found a dead boy, I thought that the building design was good because it looked old and desolated.

4. Cinematography and Lighting
a) Style: The style of this movie was realistic because there was a lot of variety of shots, and establishing and reestablishing shots.

b): Angles, Framing, Lens Choice:  This film had one best picture, and know I know why, because it had a variety of shots. Every time a bomb would blow up we would see this in different of angles, and in slow emotion. I think that the action is in slow motion because it emphasizes that the bomb it big, and its in slow motion to show different angles of the the soldiers.
There was a lot of manipulation of time especially with the bombs. I think one symbolism that was very important was the bomber's suit. In the opening scene we see the first man to wear the suit dies when the bomb explodes. Then after this person dies James is the one that begins to wear this suit. This makes the audience feel curious because is the bomb suit safe? Is James going to live?

Genre: The genre of this movie is action because its based on these three soldiers on the same team to diffuse bombs, and risking their lives everyday.

Closing Remarks:

I thought that the closing remarks wrapped up the whole story. Since in the beginning of the movie we got "war is a drug", James goes back to his regular life. There is this one scene where he has to chose a box of cereal and there is tons too choose from. This shows that since James at war had to make life and death decisions and in his normal life he had to make small simple decisions, that's when he realized his addiction to war, that is why "war is a drug". James is in love with war, that he wants to stay there, he doesn't want to go back to his regular life.