Film Technique Paragraphs - Simon Robson

 Bunny: In the short film Bunny we see the old rabbit in her kitchen trying to bake something. She begins to get frustrated as a bug continues to buzz around her kitchen and fly towards her light. We do not realize it at first but the focus on the light becomes important as the film continues and we realize the symbolism of it. The bug continues to find its way back in and continue annoying the old rabbit until finally she kills the bug and it falls into her cake batter. Then she goes ahead and puts the batter in the oven with the bug in it. We see her start to fall asleep as the oven starts to shake and rumble. The oven is focused on as a symbol of transformation in the same way that it transforms food that is put into it. The bunny goes to check the oven and we see multiple different angles focusing on the importance of this, and when she does we see her follow the bug into the oven which produces a bright light at the back of it. The bunny starts floating around with other bugs following this light and finally the light overtakes the entire screen. Throughout the story we see the emphasis of the light as it symbolizes truth or afterlife, and the moth who keeps following it is a religious follower who shows the bunny the way as well. 

Harold and Maude: In this clip we see a boy talking with his mom about the flowers. They metaphorically talk about what kind of flowers they would like to be and he says that all of these flowers are the same. At this point we see the flowers as a large group, zoomed out and blurred. They all look the same. His mom retorts to him that every flower is different and special. We then see a better image of these flowers. Close up and distinct. She explains that flowers can be tall or short, wide or thin, have more or less petals. With the 2 differing views of these flowers we can see the importance of paying attention to and understanding people's differences rather than just viewing them as a group. 

In another scene from Harold and Maude we see Harold after he just pulled a bad prank. We see the aftermath and see his reaction as he turns to the camera and smirks. We can tell he is happy with himself and proud to have pulled this off. Then he turns to his mom who is glaring at him and looking him up and down as if to say “oh you’re going to get it for that”. After he realizes this we see him turn back and lower his head in defeat. This scene uses no dialogue, however still features a conversation that we can understand through the facial expressions of these two. 

Northfork: These clips focused greatly on perspectives and points of view. We first saw the pastor preaching to his church. We see him from behind and see the congregation in front of him, understanding his point of view. Then we see a view from the back of the church and see the open wall with the fields and mountains behind the pastor. Now we see the point of view of the congregation which is very different from the pastors. We then see the shot of the buffalo and the boy running behind them. The film gives us multiple different angles of this and even gives us a triple exposure to emphasize the different views and understandings of this particular scene. 

Paris, Texas: This film used a lot of symbolism and point of view, focusing on different understandings of things by different people or beings. One instance of this is the fence and the cattle guard. For some this may be a boundary or a sign to stop, however for others it is merely an obstacle and does nothing to stop them. The train tracks symbolize travel or pilgrimage for Travis as he follows them, not exactly knowing where to go, but trusting that they will lead him somewhere. Finally, as Travis talks to his wife through the one way window we see the importance of perception. On one side he can see her and he knows who she is, on the other side she does not know who he is at first. We also see the difference between the walls that he can see versus the one that he cannot see, which is unfinished and raw. Travis ends up turning his back in an attempt to even the playing field, so to speak. We really see the importance of one’s point of view as a result of this barriered communication between the two of them. 

The Wall: In The Wall, Pink Floyd uses a lot of powerful imagery to try to convey their points and illustrate the lyrics from their songs. We see the school teacher portrayed as a puppet to his own wife who makes his life miserable, which he ends up taking out on the kids in the school. We see these kids wearing masks as if to dehumanize them as they walk into the meat grinder and all become a mashed up cluster. This references the way that Pink Floyd refers to the school system as a means of creating bricks in the wall and stumping outward thinking and creativity. As the film progresses we see many strange images including the flowers that begin to fight with each other and morph into different things. This could represent the beauty of people that is then turned into anger and bitterness, leading to things like conflict and war. There is a ton of imagery of war and skeletons, British flags, and crosses, which symbolize the things that are driving society. They continue to morph back and forth to show the true motivations and reasons behind things. At the end we see the kid, Pink, sitting in front of the wall which they want him to be a part of and he is being condemned by the higher powers of society.