eden’s film blog

Experimental / avant-garde film:   rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working .   often either manipulated photographic images, collage films, short films, or a combination of all three. Some feature abstract film techniques, sound manipulation, rapid changes in image size and style, or alternate frame rates. Some rely on mechanical devices that use optical effects such as mirrors. ignores the techniques of conventional cinema and pushes the medium of film in unexplored ways typically more concerned with form than content absence of linear narrative, lacking traditional narrative abstracting techniques e.g; out of focus, painting or scratching on film, rapid editing etc non-diegetic sound  absence of sound-track could lack plot or dialogue  started in 1920s-30s with rise of surrealism as an art movement  time lapses breaking the fourth wall  e.g, un chien and...

 The High Sign early 20th century conventions portrayed accurately - juxtaposition of exterior surroundings of the poor and rich; upper class elderly man and daughter live in rich home with posh furniture and butler working for them but working class men (the blinking buzzards) hideout in basement of shooting range in small enclosed scarcely furnished room. also beginning when Keaton is kicked off of the train, workers traveled around to find work. juxtaposition between tall, supposedly scary and threatening gang members in small enclosed room adds to comedic effect, results in them not seeming so threatening after all. repetition of the gang crowded around small spaces e.g. all of them outside the house looking through the window waiting for Keaton's character to carry out the murder - uses framing to tell us the story house full of moving walls and trap doors, elaborate set design using secret passageways; distorts reality for the audience. shots include multiple floors of the ho...

One week meaning is created in the frame itself, rather than through editing or cuts editing is extremely minimal, as invisible as possible, only present when completely necessary editing used is all for functional purposes rather than to create meaning; for example the opening shot cuts briefly to a close up of a new character before cutting to another long take of them getting in the car. so used to advance the plot rather than have an effect on how the audience view the events. the framing fits the size of the joke, mostly wide shots to show all the action happening, closest shot is the medium shot towards the end majority of, if not all Keaton's emotions and expressions are expressed through exaggerated body language and movement  size contrast is as a comedic effect - Keatons small stature is used to an advantage vs tall fatty man Keaton uses several silent comedy conventions - stuns, falls, special effects, chase sequences, set design, using mis en scene for jokes breaks 4th...

- food on the table was tempting to Ofelia, she disobeys the rules and eats two of the grapes because she is desperately hungry, after the civil war their is a lack in food supply, could have a biblical connotations of Adam and eve, when eve ate the apple - symbolic of both the catholic church during that era in Spain, of fascists and greedy rich white men I'm general  - position of pale man at the head of the table is the same as Captain Vidal's position in a previous scene, likens the two. Vidal is portrayed to be a heartless, mean and disrespectful man. His main worry was his unborn son carrying his last name. he would kill anyone in the way without hesitation he shed's blood of innocent people and has no compassion. The pale man dines off the blood of children to survive. Vidal's love for tobacco alcohol and food can be seen as parallel to the pale man's feast - his eyes being stuck in his hands means that he is constricted in his movements, as scary as he is he...

The font in the opening titles could be associated with the font you could find in an old fairy-tale book, reinforcing the theme of fairytales which is present throughout the film. The opening shot begins with the ending. The colour palette which is dark blue and black, produces a dark, sinister and cold atmosphere. The movement of this shot together with the next one takes us from the underground then into the light. When the camera lies on its side next to Ofelia then zooms in to her eye, entering her head, it foreshadows where the entire plot takes place; in her head. The warm oranges, green and yellow tones of the following scene creates a significant contrast in the tone. During the car journey, we see Ofelia absorbed in a fairytale book, this is the first impression we get of her. her mother tells her that she's too old to be fine her head with that kind of information, but later tells her she is too young to understand why she has to live with the Captain and refer to him as...

I n the title sequence we see a picture of Rocket through bars, this not only foreshadows the ending but it also hints that the camera will be a key symbol in the film.  Aside from the beginning background noise which first  helps to establish the Brazilian culture, the first sound we hear is the repeated harsh sound of the sharpening of a knife. This foreshadows the future violence that is present throughout the film. The images get more violent and the increasing speed of the cuts make the opening scene gain some sort of direction as if this scene is building up to something.  The short, jump cut clips including the use of shot reverse shot are able to enhance the opening and create a fast paced rhythm that portrayed the feeling of panic, urgency and fear for the chicken who was awaiting to be slaughtered- almost as if the pacing and rhythm of the montage was an accurate representation of the chicken’s heart rate.  This symbolises the threat posed on...

the film starts in the middle of a conversation with shaun’s vacant non blinking expression start to camera which is ironically like a zombie - the audience is jumped into the action ; links the zombie theme to him ; zoom out shot establishes his character with his actions (smoking n drinking)  its then cut abruptly with liz’s voice ‘are u listening?’ - pulls himn us out of the trance and this fourth wall break is … broken. establishes her character : grounding, in the moment / film ; his girlfriend (the genre of rom com is introduced) the music is this qind instrumental thats a mix of both zom creepy n slightly cheerry? jumps from each character to express the conversation going from each person like a tennis match ; why is liz upset? < their barrier to their relationship is the Ed, who the camera then pans to: this slob of a man  playing the pin ball machine : do you have a life? his clothes his disregard for the state of them and his actions (playing the pinball game) su...

l ondon montage is a display of renton’s character and how it bleeds through his narration: he’s not a reliable narrator and the frenzy and fast-paced nature of the london montage depicts how he views london stark contrast to prior scenes is this positive vibrant look on life  we see into his new life and job, and the speed matches the way we see london (proof of narration embodying his view on life  we see that even his honest to god real job is still ‘cheating’ as we see him hiding the complete truth and lying to consumers (which is part of the job but) perhaps this is parts of the job he likes and/or familiar with and that’s why he enjoys it  regardless, he is finally finding happiness in what he’s doing which was the choice to move away from his friends ‘there’s no such thing as society.. ‘ still acknowledges that he is alienated from the rest of world which is. contradictory to what he shows: he’s seen around so many people so perhaps this is his own minor insecuriti...

 ok so voiceover guides audience n he tells people the desperation of the hit change between the wall n the crouching in flat quickens pace displays urgency  irony in the two talking cos they’re pretending their in a restaurant ‘oh do u want starters’ when the reality of far from  he takes the hit n there’s that weird shot of the blood entering n releasing (idk what that this maybe u could do that)  he takes the hit n there’s a recall to past scenes as he falls to the floor - this is familiar no?  except the floor starts dragging him in, concern breaks through ( it hunk the music starts here irony of being a perfect day)  he sinks in deeper deeper (never ending going to rock bottom but never hitting)  shot is partially hidden, and the shot us looking down in renton- feels like a grave and the partially hidden looks like a coffin  red is symbolic of blood obviously no it opens more when he reaches the hospital - he’s more likely to survive n the fi...

 The opening scene immediately begins in media res, introducing us initially to Renton as it's narrated from his perspective, aligning the audience with him. After he is hit by the car, we get a freeze frame point of view shot as if we, as the audience are inside the car and he is outside, suggesting that he is an outsider - however the unsettling laugh shows that he is content with that. This also links with the narration he is giving in the background as he is talking about not wanting to conform with social conventions; 'Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family.' Both of these ideas introduce themes of identity and belonging. Also, the very first thing we see is Renton being chased by an authority figure, implying there are themes of conflict with authority. The film switches between high and low angle shots throughout the chase, depending on who the focus of the shot is, for instance, a high angle shot is used when they are focusing on the security gu...

  Compare and contrast how visual and soundtrack elements ( cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene,  music, sound effects, ) are used in  both films to influence how  audiences feel about characters and the narrative of the film . The cinematography in No Country for Old Men significantly influences the way the audience interprets what we are shown. an example of this is boots. Boots are a key motif throughout the film; there’s a whole scene where Moss goes to buy some new boots, and Chigurh doesn’t like getting blood on his. In one particular scene, in the foreground, slightly out of focus, are the dead drug dealers boots and they seem symbolic of the old order, worn away by the difficulties of trying to live in such an unforgiving landscape and also the modern world. In the background, the desert stretches - these wide-angle shots of the desolate land are repeated throughout the film, this also gives the added effect of human characteristics being dwarfed and insig...

 - movie initially makes us believe that we'll see the 'good guy' defeating the 'bad guy' and walking away into the sunset with the bag of cash - we realise no one was really 'good' and that they were merely after the drug money - character arcs relitavely resolved - unepected and unsatisfying but still resolved as ed tom bell dream thing suggests hes come to terms with end of life/retired now and is old - death is the resolve, chigurh does his job, they all die - chanceand fate - coin toss - she doesnt call it, taking his power from him, her death is honourable - she talks abt not having money - he reasures her its temporary - 2fold giving her peace of mind and telling her shes gon die  - all about acceptance of death - girl makes him realise its actually him himself who is bringer of death - in that moment he has to accept it, maybe question his morals etc, uses coin /fate as an excuse - cosmically punished as an agent of chaos - will he die? last we see o...

The scene is uncomfortably slow, lengthy and awkward. In this way the audience is encouraged to feel for Chigurh as the shopkeeper is clearly irritating him - Chigurh speaks clearly and concisely which could put the audience on edge and curious as to what his next move is, whereas the shopkeeper's responses are slow so the director may be encouraging us to share Chigurh's feeling of irritation and impatience. We already have the knowledge that Chigurh is murderous and impulsive, but the shopkeeper does not know this, so he communicates with him as he would any regular man. The scene implies that Chigurh does not approve of the fact that the man married into his lifestyle therefore perhaps he believes people should work for what they have - he may think the shopkeeper is lucky and all he owns is down to luck, doing nothing to get to where he is now so he is undeserving of it. The repeated OTS shots add to the feeling of length of the scene, also giving a feel that something is a...

 At the beginning of the scene, the shots are tranquil and quiet - the landscape is desolate. The audience is instantly aligned with Sheriff Bell as he is narrating at this point.  When we are first introduced to Chigurh, we see a wide shot of him being taken to a police car, then a mid shot in which he is facing away from the camera - in this way alignment is avoided, we have only seen his back and his weapon. The cut to the weapon could suggest it's important, foreshadowing his later use of it. He remains out of focus until he's on the floor, the camera zooming into his face as he strangles a police officer to death - this immediately presents him as the violent force of evil. The way that he washes the blood off his wrists as if it's an everyday action is telling of his character and lifestyle. His first dialogue is threatening, as well as his expression. His voice is slightly monotone and he is smirking as he shoots the man in the head. This tells the audience that he f...

Do you find the ending of the film to be satisfying resolution ?  Why ? it was not a satisfying resolution at all - the audience does not see any conflicts resolved between Llewelyn and Anton How were you expecting the film to end ?   I was expecting there to be an ending fight scene in which either one of them dies and maybe Sheriff Ed Tom Bell gets involved in some way. Also for there to be a triumph on either sides it was quite ambiguous throughout the film as to who would get the money to succeed. Why do you feel the Coen Brothers decided to have their main protagonist killed offscreen , and then avoid a final climax between Sheriff Bell and Chigurh ?  Consider the effect on the audience in terms of expectations of genre and narrative,  and the  themes of  law and order v criminality , good v evil , heroism etc. I think that the reason the Coen Brothers decided to end the film in this way is because they wanted to demonstrate the idea that as peopl...

Task 2- Analysis  Comment on the film by filling in the following grid and copying/linking it to your blog.   Analysis:   Narrative Feature Example Your own example  Establishing protagonist - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed? Unusually, we don’t see the protagonist’s face until the dream section… and then we aren’t sure if this is her, as we’ve only seen her shadow and fragmented body parts: hands, sandalled feet and eye. Creates mystery from the start. What can we tell about her from the first 5 mins?       Establishing other characters - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed? The cloaked, mirror-faced figure is dressed similarly to the protagonist. Is this a dream reflection of her? There are also doubles of the protagonist - or are they the same person? The only other character is the male lover that awakens (or does he?). His behaviour is tender, suggesting intimacy. Are all of the characters actually fragmented re...

David Lynch portrays ordinary aspects of life such as being born as nightmarish through several techniques. At the beginning, the characters movie twitchy and comfortable ways as well as violently and aggressively leading to an unnatural feel. The colour tone and overall look of the picture is also established as murky, dark and hard-to-define, and the characters wear expressive pasty white makeup resulting in a dream-like or nightmarish feel. It's also important to note the manipulation of sound, it creates a sense of fear and threat as the sounds are peculiar and not usually heard; the abnormality of this enhances the discomfort. The parents  are also barking like animals - these primitive emotions add to the abstract nature of the film. Further on in the film, we see the reduction of parent-child relationships to simple gestures, juxtapositions of bodies and understated movements as well as the fact that there is no dialogue aside from then word 'mutt' which makes the ov...

 subjective perspective in film - the audience audience sees events through the leading actor's eyes, as if they were experiencing the events themselves. it shows the influences of the character and emphasises on their own perspective and understanding. objective filmmaking - makes it look as if the narrator is an outsider or third party who watches the proceedings of the scene in sidelines. doesn't focus on personal feelings, or she any biased influences. ways that a filmmaker can immerse you into a characters perspective - film camera can act as a bridge between the relationship of the film actors and the film audiences using for e.g: POV shots, sound, soundtrack, movements, closeups, hallucinations and dreams, various angles, vertigo zoom lines, eye line edits, steady cam follows, inserts of characters thoughts, shaky camera examples - saving private Ryan, Big Fish

set in the American West usually in the period from 1850s to end of the 19th century setting in immense plains, rugged tablelands and mountain ranges conflict between white pioneers and Indians cowboys historical persons in the American West adventure storylines gunslinging desperadoes lawmen violence moral dramas physical courage dilemmas individual and group conflict horsemanship outlaws duels outlaws bandits sheriffs Native Americans shootouts American civil war railways lawlessness of regions wilderness vast landscapes revenge saloons ranches

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