Lizzie Heier- Exploring Film Technique

Bunny:
In the short-film Bunny, there is a moth that is constantly bothering the bunny and eventually guides her to her peaceful death. This moth could have been an angel of death showing her the way back to her husband. In the film, the angle of the camera did a great job of creating different emotions. There was one scene where the camera angle viewed the bunny from above while she was searching for the moth and it created more anger in the scene. You could feel the bunny's annoyance as she glanced all around her house for this annoying little moth. 

Harold and Maude:
In the scene of the mother and son in the flowers and graves, the camera does a great job of recreating what the mother and son are saying. The son is discussing how he feels like everything and everyone is the same and there is no uniqueness within individuals. During this, the camera is zoomed out from the flowers so they all look the same and you can not tell they are different. Then when the mother discusses how this is not the case and that when you look deeper at an individual you can see their differences, the camera zooms in on the flowers, and the viewer can agree with the mother and see that each flower is different. 

Northfork:
The scene of the church was very powerful. We first started off by looking at the priest as the view of the congregation. Then we moved to look at the congregation as the priests view. Finally, the camera zoomed out and we were able to see everything. The mountains in the background were beautifully still. They were meant to represent God watching this town change and move but staying perfectly still. The buffalo was also very interesting because they were all dying during this time period but were very important to add into the film to see the change in lifestyle. The split house was a great representation of camera angle. When the father and son realized the house was split in two, the camera went from the son to the father to the outside angle. This was a great way to fully be able to understand the split. When the father jumped to the other half, the camera was viewing him from the son's point of view. Having the camera be able to follow the different angles gave the viewer a better understanding of what the house was like. 

Paris Texas:
The wide camera angle in all parts of this film is very interesting. In the first desert scene, the camera angle is so wide that you are able to see all this land that the man has left to travel. You can see that there is nothing in sight except for more desert. When the man gets to the valley, the wide camera angle lets you see all the mountains and fields left to travel. It also allows the viewer to see the extending phone line. This allows the viewer to interpret that the man is traveling along with the telephone lines. Without the film technique of using the wide camera, the viewer would not be able to understand the extent to which this man traveled and that he was following the phone lines. 

The shot:
This film does a great job of using lighting to help display emotion. When Travis is speaking to his wife through the mirror, it is well lit on the wife's side and darker on Travis's. When Travis finally exposes who he is to his wife, the camera zooms in on the wife's face so we can see all her emotions and the tears that follow. The light is on her face and is able to show the distress that she is feeling. Eventually, she turns the light off so that Travis can point the light on his face so she can see him. This shows the power that light has. She has never been able to see the other side of the mirror but the light allows this to happen. The film still displays a light on her face so the viewer can see both of their emotions and can show how powerful this scene is in all. 

Pink Floyd:
The color that was used in this film does a great job of displaying the movie's feelings about the different events. The school is often shown as grey and shows the negative and disturbing feelings that go along with the memories of education. There is a lot of red in the animation as well showing blood and disturbing images to go along with the negative thoughts. The film uses real clips along with animation. This is very helpful for the viewer to see how the film wants certain topics to come across because they can create their own images. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Decalogue

2/9/2021 This particular retelling of the Ten Commandments does so in a more modern format than most would expect. Some audience members questioned the ability of the Ten Commandments to be told in such a format as this particular retelling strays from the original meaning of midrash. I argue that this retelling as a form of Midrash that is more assessable and understandable to the modern audience. It grabs your interest by telling a beautiful story with many characters and elements one would not anticipate seeing in such an explanation of the ten commandments. Each commandment lays out a plot that causes the audience to forget the original intention of the film, finding unique ways to gain emotional ties and capture the attention of those watching. I will say as a view it was difficult to watch more than one of these films at a time. Perhaps this was due to my personal religious beliefs and connection to the midrash, but the intensity of these films weighed heavy on me and I felt very...
Read more

Thin Red Line - Bev Hollberg

  The Thin Red Line, which I would describe as several hours of watching men be brutally murdered, was intentionally made so disturbing so as to encourage viewers to reflect on the gift of life. One of my initial reactions was "I'd be the worst soldier ever, I'd just hide in the grass the entire time" and "I'm so glad women aren't included in the draft". My gratitude for never having to go to war is probably fairly universal within viewers (as the director intended). By emphasizing human distaste for war through the film's graphic depictions of death, the director leads his viewers to the question of "what is worth the sacrifice of human life?" For Krishna and the Colonel, duty is the price of life.   The Thin Red Line was very difficult to watch, as I'm not normally someone who puts up with any type of blood and guts. I think the gore was intended to convey the sublime nature of war and life. By reminding viewers of how terrible th...
Read more

Student Chosen Topic #4: Andrew Ours

  Over winter break, I had the opportunity to raid my Dad’s bookcase to find a book I had not read before. I had the opportunity to pick up a book titled,   The Last Amateurs  by John Feinstein. The book is about the 1999-2000 season in the Patriot League conference of NCAA College Basketball. What I found most interesting is how the narrative explored in the book is still ever present today in College Basketball. The thesis of the book is that college basketball is an organization corrupted by money and the need to win for the bigger programs. However, there is a purity to the integrity and how the game is played in the Patriot League, true Student Athletes. Today, there is a debate on if college athletes should be paid to play, due to the amount of money they made for their college and university, especially in college basketball and Football. In today’s game, for the top universities, even more so than they were in 1999, it is just a stepping stone for professional bas...
Read more