For this assignment I have chosen to analyze a scene from the 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums, directed by West Anderson, where Richie Tenembaum, portrayed by Luke Wilson, attempts to commit suicide. This scene provides a shift from the previously established editing style of the film, its mood, pace, and camera movement as the filmmaker presents the climax in this one character’s story. This is done through the use of a specific mise en scène and an editing style which conveys the emotion behind the character’s actions.
The scene takes place after Richie Tenembaum and Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray) –the husband of his adopted sister, Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow)- learn about the several affairs Margot has had throughout her life, which include her current relationship with Richie’s best friend, Eli Cash (Owen Wilson). This comes as a shock to Richie, who had previously confessed his love for Margot to Eli. Before the scene starts, the song Needle In the Hay by Elliot Smith, a low-fidelity indie tune made up of an acoustic guitar and soft vocals which create a mood of desolation and misery, starts playing from a non-diegetic source. We are presented with a long shot of a room in St. Claire’s residence where St. Claire rests on a couch and, in the background, Richie gets into the bathroom and closes the door.
The scene starts with a medium close-up of Richie, who is positioned in the center of the fame and looks directly into the camera –which also doubles as the bathroom window- while wearing his signature headband and sunglasses. The medium close-up leads the viewer to focus on Richie’s face during the actions that are to fallow, but it also allows for a sense of place to be established. The scene starts off poorly lit and with a s...
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...s when it cuts Richie’s forearm skin. The use of diegetic sound allows the viewer to feel as if this montage is going through Richie’s head as he cuts himself. As Richie is standing in front of the mirror we see things from his point of view and we understand his reality at the moment. The rapidly edited montage of memories is analogous to the immediacy of his actions.
When the montage is over we see a point-of-view shot of Richie’s hands resting on the sink, which is covered with his hair, headband, shaving cream, and wristbands. As the water from the tap runs through the sink, a river of blood runs down Richie’s forearm. The scene ends with a medium shot of Richie, who looks at himself in the mirror for a moment and the proceeds to sit down on the ground. The camera follows him and the volume of the soundtrack increases, which gives more tension to the moment.
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
Canadian filmmaker and cinephile, Guy Maddin once said, “I do feel a bit like Dracula in Winnipeg. I’m safe, but can travel abroad and suck up all sorts of ideas from other filmmakers… Then I can come back here and hoard these tropes and cinematic devices.” Here, Maddin addresses his filmmaking saying that he takes aspects from different film styles and appropriates them into his own work. In The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Maddin uses a combination of French Surrealist filmmaking and classical American Hollywood cinema, specifically melodrama, to create his own style. In an article by William Beard, Steven Shaviro talks about Maddin’s filmmaking, and he links Surrealism and melodrama together saying, “Maddin’s films are driven by a tension between romantic excess [melodrama] on the one hand and absurdist humour [Surrealism] on the other.” In regards to The Saddest Music in the World, the relationship between Surrealism and melodrama is not one of tension, as Shaviro suggests, but one of cooperation. This paper will analyze two films by filmmakers Maddin was familiar with —Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali on the Surrealist side, and All That Heaven Allows (1955) by Douglas Sirk on the melodrama side—to showcase the important elements of each, concluding with an analysis of The Saddest Music in the World in conjunction with both film styles. Ultimately, it will be shown how Guy Maddin combines French Surrealist cinema and Hollywood melodrama in The Saddest Music in the World, to create his own unique film style.
The film Wendy and Lucy, directed by Kelly Reichardt, presents a sparse narrative. The film has been criticised for its lack of background story, and as a short film, much of the story is left to the viewer to infer from what is presented in the plot. However, Wendy and Lucy is able to depict the intimate relationship between Wendy and her dog as well as reflecting more broadly on the everyday, and commenting on the current economic state of the film’s setting in America. This essay will examine how film form contributes to the viewer’s awareness of the story in Wendy and Lucy and allows a deeper understanding of the themes presented. The aspects of mise-en-scene, shot and editing and sound in the film will be explored.
The Alfred Hitchcock film; Vertigo is a narrative film that is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. I will be examining the following characteristics of the film Vertigo: 1)individual characters who act as casual agents, the main characters in Vertigo, 2)desire to reach to goals, 3)conflicts, 4)appointments, 5)deadlines, 6)James Stewart’s focus shifts and 7)Kim Novak’s characters drives the action in the film. Most of the film is viewed in the 3rd person, except for the reaction shots (point of view shot) which are seen through the eyes of the main character.(1st person) The film has a strong closure and uses continuity editing(180 degree rule). The stylistic (technical) film form of Vertigo makes the film much more enjoyable. The stylistic film form includes camera movements, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and props.
“Gerald’s Game,” is an American psychological horror film directed by Mike Flanagan, and written by Jeff Howard. Based on the Stephen King’s novel of the same name, it explores how the main character fight to survive when her husband unexpectedly dies, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame. Within the context of “Gerald’s Game,” the formal and social aspect will be examined through the use of camera movement, lighting, and the genre of the film. The paper would include a very brief investigation of the plot summary and the formal and social analysis of the film.
This essay shows the subtle differences that can occur between directors, even when they are basing the movie off of almost the exact same script. Almost no two movies are exactly alike, no matter how hard the directors and actors might try. Minor personality differences and scene changes greatly affect the atmosphere and meaning of the same movie. One example of this is the movie Romeo and Juliet. This movie tells the gripping story of two young lovers who are forbade to see each other because of a viscous feud between the two families. I'll be looking at the older 50's version of Romeo and Juliet and comparing it to the newer version of Romeo and Juliet.
Then the question is posed to Mr. Lockwood, "How did it all begin?" The answering of this question is what my paper will explain. I will attempt to break down the opening scene and show how it all started. By using tools of film such as sound, editing, mise en scene, and cinematography, this paper will show how the scene was made as well. Mise en scene played an important role in this movie as with any other movie.
The opening shot looks like it was taken with a handheld camera, as it is somewhat shaky and we can hear a background noise. We are introduced to the character right away. We see a reflection of him at first, and then the camera proceeds to pan up until we can see his whole body. His head is turned away, so we can only see his profile. He is wearing casual clothing and a red headband. We know he is in New York City because we can see Queensboro subway station behind him. He looks to the side of the camera as it makes a few quick cuts. He crosses the street and the camera is behind him, a safe distance away. It zooms in and out and makes another series of quick cuts as it observes him reading a newspaper. He is never really in the centre of the shot and does not appear to be the main focus of the camera. We see people pass by and block our view and we even see him from the back. The next shot, at 1:50, shows his back as he’s having a conversation with somebody, whose face we also cannot see. The next shot is him sitting on a car, smoking a cigarette. Another man approaches him and they proceed to talk briefly. We cannot hear what they are saying. After another series of cuts, w...
1. The scene begins by fading in on the back of the silent man’s head (Cary Grant) in Alicia’s bungalow. Then the camera zooms out while sweeping right to give the first full shot and view of both of the main characters. They are shown seated at a table, with many empty bottles of liquor and glasses.
There are four crucial scenes of this film in which Hitchcock shows a change in perspective and identity through the mise-en-scène. Hitchcock’s signature motifs, style, and themes are conveyed through the mise-en-scène.
...es start off with the digetic sound of a helicopter, which is then used to lead into the nondiegetic sound of a synthesized helicopter within the song. As the scene moves along about two minutes into the scene we come to see the blades of a ceiling fan whirling around. This is where the helicopter sounds in the music change back into the diegetic sound of the whirling ceiling fan blades. The second motif is that the song reoccurs again about two hours into the movie. This is the scene where Willard is killing Kurtz and the caribou is being sacrificed. Which goes back to the function of the song in the beginning, which was to foreshadow the death or “The End” of Kurtz death.
In the opening scene of the horror movie Peter is calmly standing on the balcony and then suddenly jumps off. The director uses a tracking shot which leads to Peter. Then there is a close up shot of Peter’s girlfriend when she is in a state of shock this is effective because it demonstrates the emotions immediately. While this is happening broken chords are playing in the background to create tension. Then there was a tracking shot, to see Peter. In the background broken cords are playing, the tempo increases. This is effective because it shows the audience how far Peter has fallen down and creates suspense. It leaves the audience stunned and confused because Bill Pullman is a famous actor. The audience don’t expect Bill Pullman to die so early in the movie. The director uses this technique because it keeps the audience wanting to watch on.
As an audience we are manipulated from the moment a film begins. In this essay I wish to explore how The Conversation’s use of sound design has directly controlled our perceptions and emotional responses as well as how it can change the meaning of the image. I would also like to discover how the soundtrack guides the audience’s attention with the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.
This is where the “leftover bond money” from her daddy’s jail bond gets delivered to her. Granik portrays a resolution and a sense of happiness that would never be attained in real life. A technique which is used to highlight the epitome of this happiness is the lighting. In this particular scene, you’ll notice it is significantly brighter than the rest of the film. This is because it’s the only scene which the sun is shining. This allows the audience to undergo a change of heart. It’s an offered resolution, which allows us (the audience) to distract away from all the misery and heartbreak. To reconsider the harshness of society. And makes us entitled to feel happy for the character. However, like earlier in the film where the dialogue was distracting away from the almost too perfect house, fit for the societal circumstances of the Ozarks. It outlines again that this film is a Hollywood representation of the unprivileged society. A resolution that is offered after the character having to go through traumatic events would be an unforeseen occurrence in real life. The particular resolution distracts away from the real life circumstances of poverty and welfare in America. This allows again for the viewers to reconsider the film and relate to real life thinking that people do get resolutions. Furthermore that people are “free to” but not understanding that they’re not “free
The scene begins with Joel and Clementine lying naked on a rug in the middle of the floor covered only by a repugnant quilt. The quilt has a tranquilizing effect however because of its warm colors, which is perfect for this scene. The colors of the quilt subconsciously give the feeling that everything is comfortable. As they are lying on the floor Clementine asks Joel if she is ugly. As soon as she asks the question the shot changes and it shows Joel instantly respond with an “uh huh,” in a manner saying no. The camera then goes to Clementine, but once she starts to speak, it instantly shows Joel again. Clementine tells Joel about how she remembers when she was little a little girl and she thought she was ugly, as the camera is still on a close up of Joel. Usually while someone is talking the camera would be on them, but in this scene the camera is on a close up of Joel while Clementine is talking to show his expressions and to see the sincerity of his emotions and the love he has for Clementine. The next shot is a picture of Clementine when she was little. The picture of her is a somewhat average litt...