Taxi driver-5 min

The 5 minutes of the film "Taxi Driver" that i will be focusing on is in the rising action of the film, directly after Travis Bickle talks to the other taxi driver in order to see his perspective on the taxi driving life. This aspect of the film is important because it illustrates Bickle's intent in wanting to be a taxi driver as opposed to any other job -- it highlights the problems that occur in New York, and the job gives much exposure to the filth that is within New York. It combines all of Travis' motives and heighten his anger that he releases in the resolution of the film.

Along with that, this highlights the intent of the piece: An outlier in a corrupted society tries to defy how society is ran in order to stabilize the city, even if by means of committing acts of destruction himself. Through creating such an unattractive and and almost cynical anti-hero, director Robert Dinero hopes to portray his own view on New York life. Perhaps he portrays it with such tormenting images and events because he may have experienced a similar life when he lived in New York himself.

This is probably the main reason why he was inspired to become a priest when he was younger. Through this film he and his anti-hero, Travis, he hopes to visualize the potential revelation that the city of New York can undergo, even if it is through the smallest units, such as an ordinary individual. Travis, in this sense, becomes Robert Dinero's icon; Travis begins the process of revelation, an act that Robert Dinero himself hoped to accomplish.
In addition, i chose this aspect of the film because it covers all of the main recurring motifs and images that are portrayed in the film. In this film their is many recurring images and motifs: drugs, sexuality, isolation, and racism.
These images and motifs seem to be popular in some of Robert Deniro's films. A prime example of this is the film raging bull as Robert Deniro stars as a boxer who breaks up from his wife and child and constantly shows his sexual jealousy and eagerness.

Similar to his attempt to date the campaigning women, in Raging Bull he is desperate to have a girlfriend by his side. Through this role of women in relation to the protagonist, Deniro hopes to create the dynamic of the complexity that society has through the intricate role of women. Travis is eager to love a women, but at the same time despises them for their degrading acts such as prostitution.
In this portion of the film, he combines both his negative portrayal of women and his racism; thus, enhancing his motives that are revealed in the resolution of the film. In this particular scene, a prostitute is being antagonized by a group of young adults; the focus is on the black kid who stares back at Travis.

Directly after Travis talks to a fellow taxi driver who helps convey to the audience why the job of being a taxi driver is so interesting and important and, in turn, essential to the plot. The man explains the complexity of the "night life" which implies why Travis was so fascinated with the job which also helps characterize Travis a bit further.

This portion of the film assembles all of the key components of the film to help create a pathway to the climax of the film, where Travis physically demonstrates his lingering intentions.

Blog Response- The American Anti-Hero

The rise of the anti-hero expanded the realm of the cinematic art, and equipped it with a tie between the events that occur in the real world and the creativity of film making. An anti hero is a reflection of our historical selves. As events heated up in the 20th century, the need for an anti-hero in films quickly arose. The anti-hero within films was a powerful way to depict events and the emotions that tied along with these events. Before anti-heroes were used in films, film makers portrayed real life only through a realistic style of shooting. This included longer shot durations and less cutting. The addition of the anti-hero was an outlet to escape the realistic style, yet still accurately coney events that occurred in the world. Along with that, this also allowed for the escape the overused approach of hero-villain scenario: "The spice of a story, the element that makes it more than simple heroes and villains lies within the character of the Antihero".

This transition of the depiction of real events being portrayed by individuality has increased the emotional output displayed in film. By taking this approach, we become tied to the character as he faces what can be a manifestation of the real world's current problems. These are the most compelling protagonist because although we usually will not be able to relate to them as the audience, we admire their independence and courage. This is exemplified by Travis Bickle in Martin Scorcese's "Taxi Driver".

Travis Bickle is a very unorthodox character, as he clearly is inexperienced at communicating with others. He is secluded not only in a social level, but a mental one as well. He is "a character, who violently deals with being "dislocated"" (Kolker 181). Although his thoughts are very rational to the common audience, within the film his view on life contradicts the people he is surrounded by; he wishes to end the filth that recurs in New York City while others promote it. Although his actions are definitely out of the ordinary and very extreme, we are sympathetic towards him because we understand that he is innocent within his own mind. It is very relieving to the audience that, in the end, he is rewarded for being the couragous and honest character that he consistently is.
The incorporation of an anti hero contradicts the forms of classicism because the purpose of each form is very different. Classicism suggests that things are directly related to one another, and the fast cutting enhances this idea of cause and effect. But with an anti hero, it contradicts classicism because the anti hero is somewhat absorbs these problems within this one character, and through his action he produces the effects. This doesn't necessarily have fast cutting as well; with anti heroes, fast cutting is much more selective. These anti-heros become virtually heroes within the film media, and are accurately chosen as they are symbolic for something larger, hat can be reflected in real life. These characters are inspiring: "the goal of the warrior/hero is not long life, but glorious life followed by glorious death"(Fitch www.usask.ca).

Blog Response- Article- Intensified Continuity

David Bordell's concept of intensified continuity has greatly revolutionized the cinematic arts. Intense Continuity is continuity that creates cinematic incoherence and stylistic fragments. This idea of intensified continuity had not developed, or was not adopted until the 1960s. Prior to this, films had generally followed the idea of realism in which the focus of continuity was displayed through elongated shots and a lack of cuts. This preserved the realism within the film which, in turn, made for absolute coherence in the film. Yet this style was soon revolutionized when new lenses, camera movements, faster cuts, and closer shots were integrated.
With the addition of extreme lenses in a film, the ability to create more coverage within scenes. Polarized lenses, such as narrow lenses as opposed to the more commonly used wide-angled lenses. The use of narrow angle lenses created a much more discrete depth of field which, in turn, allowed their to be more concentration within each shot. Along with that, this use of extreme lenses allowed for the creation of more surreal images. This not only amused the audience to a much larger degree, but it also allowed for an expansion of narratives. Film makers were enabled to film more radical narratives that were well-supplied by the use of extreme images.
Faster cuts is what defined "intensified cutting". The use of faster cuts had greatly sped up the pace of the film. Action became much more substantial as events took place in frames that lasted less than 3 seconds on average. The introduction of this technique heightened the effects in action, thrillers, and horror films. Faster cutting has been so affective and appealing to the audience that it dominates the modern world. This was a large transition that marked the largest innovation in cinematic art.
The integration of camera movements has also greatly enhanced film production. With the addition of camera movements and tracking shots, the audience is more compelled to the actions of the film as the camera itself brings them closer to the film itself, as if they are participating in the events themselves. Tracking shots and panning had also added to the affect of bringing focus to the frame. This is exemplified by directional movements; thus, adding to the dynamics of camera movements. In some cases, this addition to the cinematic arsenal has also allowed the camera itself to adopt a personality of its own. Depending on its movements and role within the film, the camera becomes very affective in making the audience feel as if they are interacting with the actors within the film themselves.
Last, the use of closer framing added the emotional aspect of this cinematic revolution. As the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups became more prominent, the connection between the audience and the actors grew. As the audience is closer to the action of the film, they feel a larger emotional attachment to the events that are occurring. This supplemented the fast cutting as the audience begins to feel the intensity of the action.
Although their were many strong additions to the film industry, this adaption did come with some minor discrepancies. The abandoning of a more realistic style of filming lost a sense of continual continuity. Film became a bit more choppy, and lost some sense of realism within the film; Events within the film were not fully depicted in the scenes. Despite this loss, overall, films use of "intensified continuity" has strongly aided film into what it has become today.

Blog- Advanced Editing Notes- Overview/Classical Paradigm

1) Their are clear differences in the camera works of "Arrival of a Train" which reflects a more realism style of shooting and "Damsel in Distress" which reflects more of a classicism style of shooting. In "Arrival of a rain" the camera is static in one position as it is in one spot as an ordinary train is passing by. This realism style of filming was very compelling in the time period of this film because it was the first step to actual film making. Yet in retrospect, we generally look at this film as boring, for the camera is static and it is a dragged on shot to commit to continuity of the action.
"Damsel in Distress" on the other hand, has a much different approach on film making than "Arrival of a Train". The shots within this film were much more diverse and, therefore, had much more coverage and composition. This focused on different objects or people at different times to reflect a relationship between two things in order to show cause and effect. In addition, the shots used contain much more close-ups than "Arrival of the Train" to capture more emotion and to draw the audience within the piece.

2) Their are glaring differences between the edits between these two films. In "Arrival of a Train", their is little to no editing done (or at least any noticeable editing). The shots in this film are elongated to its fullest extent in order to preserve the film's continuity. In addition, this realism editing style is used to portray real events that can relate to the audience as much possible; this is achieved through pure continuity and a central focus on one event.
Contrarily, "Damsel in Distress" uses full use of editing to convey their desired meaning. Following the classicism editing style, this film has very fast cutting to tie with the close ups on different people and objects. This allows them to take full advantage of a parallel action, and intensifies the film as well. This is exemplified near the beginning of the film where it begins with a close up on the train and the steam coming out of its top, and it then cuts to a women sitting down on the ground. This also conveys a relation between the two that will become more clear as the film progresses.

3) I would describe the the characteristics of "Arrival of a Train" as subtle, yet interesting. Considering the realistic style of this film, their is no true plot or narrative to it; thus, this simple idea becomes very subtle. It is interesting because, in hindsight, I see it as interesting, for my perception of music is quite different than this. I am more exposed to faster cutting and more complex storytelling.
I would describe "Damsel in Distress" as a very intense film. This is because the cutting of the shots are very quick, and the sounds and images are very uneasy. Along with that, the use of parallel actions makes the film even more intense, for the audience awaits what is going to happen in the end between the train and the women. In my perspective, this classic style of editing is much more compelling than realist editing.

Advanced Editing notes (3;4)

3:
a) Pudovski's concept of constructive editing was that long shots were too close to reality, so only close-ups, textures, symbols, and other selected details should be used by filmmakers. He believed these montages were the most effective way to convey expressively the idea underlying the complex jumble of real life. He manifested this concept by juxtaposing different shots in order to create new meanings of objects or actions. Yet he did not want to overuse this technique extensively because he thought it would be intrusive like D.W. Griffith's use of close-ups.

b) The Kuleshov effect is when their is a sequence of shots to suggests that their is a certain connection between these objects or people. This effect shows that juxtaposed images is what creates emotion, not the actor's performance. It is linking fragmented details to produce unified action. An example of this in a modern movie is the Tree of Life. In this movie, the greenery of the forest is sometimes followed by a sequence of different view of the outside earth. The lack of dialogue also supplements the idea that is trying to be conveyed in the film.

c)Eisenstein produced a collision montage with contrasting images, for that is what he believed life was all about.He believed shots needed to be contrasted to produce a new meaning; the shots couldn't be too linked. He considered it a mystical process. This is shown in the Odessa steps scene when Eisenstein begins the sequence with people running down the steps, but he contrasts this idea of a fast pace with a mother slowly picking up her injured child in the middle of the frantic scenery. This contrasts illustrates the emotion given between the mother and her injured child.

4:
a)Andre Bazin was frustrated with the much of the editing process. He believed that editing could destroy the effectiveness of a scene. Distortions in using formalist techniques, especially thematic ediing, can violate the complexities of reality. Formalists were egocentric and manipulative. Thus, in his own film making, he condoned the idea of subtle cuts to preserve the realism within the film, and the narrative.

b) Realist editors strive for continuity and coverage within their films; thus it gives a more realistic effect on the audience. In order to achieve this, the editing must be very subtle and not distracting to the harmony between the shots. In this case, the sensitivity of the artist. In this case, filmmakers must be modest, self effacing and a patient observer to see where reality leads. This, in turn, reflects the ideas of wonder and the mysteries of life which is the desired goal for realist filmmakers.

c) Some techniques that realist filmmakers use long shots, wide screen, lengthy takes, deep focus, panning, craning, tilting, or tracking rather than cutting to individual shots. Realist believe the best films were when the artists personal vision is held in delicate balance with the objective nature of the medium. Realist editing is powerful to the audience, for it can relate to them in the most powerful way as opposed to classicism or formalism.

Blinded- Short Film Critique

Rationale:
The short film that my group made was titled "Blinded". This film is about a generous man who gives his blind girlfriend his eyes so she can see the world and eventually marry him. Yet when, he does, the girl gradually veers away from him until they are no longer together.

Commentary:
My responsibility in this film was being the director. I was responsible for taking part in the script writing, but also made decisions during post-production such as: overlooking the shots by the cinematographer, telling the actors where to be and when, bringing the props needed, and organizing the location according to our desires. Last, i also overlooked the editing so the film would turn out as planned, which i thought was pretty successful.

Some problems that arose for me and my responsibility was getting all of our actors together at once. Our main actress was constantly busy which really tampered with our schedule to a point where some scenes were rushed. This was apparent in the 7th scene at the Burlingame train station in which we could only hint at what Lauren's mind set is as opposed to convincing to the audience her change in attitude towards John. This aggravated the plot line, yet it still was plausible due to this small hint. Another problem that we had was accessibility to props. As seen in the film, John's glasses constantly change throughout the film. This is due to the fact that original pair of sunglasses that we had were not available; thus, we encountered some continuity issues.

In some cases, we could not fix some of these problems. For example, we had to comply with our actresses schedule as opposed to our which really put us at a disadvantage in relation to time. In turn, we were unable to meet the required deadline and, as i stated before, disallowed us to develop some of our crucial scenes which jeopardized the plausibility of the plot. As for the glasses, we had to replace with other dark-looking glasses in order to cover our actors' face.It generally worked for the film and didnt penalize it in any significant way. Overall, with a good team effort we were able to finish the film with a good amount of success despite some rough times during production. On top of that, editing also really helped the success of the film as it was well put together and was put in a good sequential order.

Some problems that arose as a whole went hand in hand with the problems with the actors; we had missing shots by the time of the edit that we were unable to reshoot. This problem made it hard for our editors. For instance, in the third scene when Lauren is about to sit down she has her glasses on, but in the next shot she has them off.This continuity error forced us to put in an unprofessional cross fade in it. Another large problem was the recording the audio. Using the new adapter for the first time, we didn't really know how to use it properly; thus, the audio became unclear and constantly buzzed. This overall created problems with the quality of the film as it becomes irritating to the audience. When I tried to get rid of the buzzing noise in soundtrack pro, i was unable to because soundtrack pro takes in two recordings of audio while we mysteriously only had one while the other one seemed to not have recorded any audio. This problem was very apparent in the last scene, as we unavoidably had to keep raising and dropping the audio, so it would be completely silent in the background when John was talking, but when Lauren was talking their was a constant buzzing. Last, We also had problems with the camera. We kept interchanging between two lenses which was very distracting to the audience. We were forced to do so because the long lens blurred in any close up shots, so we had to use the wide angle lens. Although it is not a glaring problem, it is still a bit noticeable which took away from some of the quality of the film. Overall, these problems did have some effect on the outcome of the film, yet we were still able to get by by having a tied-together storyline.

The problems stated above were generally hard to fix, but we managed to handle in the post production stage. First, to deal with missing shots, we either cut the scene short before the noticed problem, or we used cross fades as stated before. Another unique way we dealt with this was in the first scene. In the first scene, we put titles between the missing shots, for it wasn't their, we would have had jump cuts. By putting in titles, the audience can assume that a certain amount of time had passed, thus, the reason why they are much further ahead. This also was generally a presentable way to present the titles as it continued throughout the first scene while establishing Lauren's daily problems dealing with her blindness. To deal with the audio, we chose either to take out the dialogue itself, or we put music over it to hide the buzzing sound. For instance, since we couldn't get rid of the buzzing sound, in the second scene, we put a very faint background sound so the buzzing seemed more subtle. Not only did this music hide the buzzing sound, but it also contributed to the overall tone of the scene; thus, it was a very affective method. On the other hand, their was some instances in which the buzzing sound was unavoidable, such as the resolution of the film. Last, we were unable to deal with the lens problem. Only in some small shots we could, such as in the first scene when Lauren falls, we put a blur filter on it so the depth of field is a little more hidden.

Despite all of the problems that my group and I faced, I thought that the film was compelling and pleasant. The plot itself was very attention grabbing, as you end up feeling really sorry for John, and end up hating Lauren. This attachment to the characters allowed the story to prevail itself. Along with that, i thought all of the shots and scenes we had were very purposeful, and i though that the editing was very solid. Despite all of the problems that we had faced, I thought we handled them to the fullest potential, and were successful at conveying the plot effectively. Contrarily though, i thought many improvements could have been made. To begin, I would like to have had a more reliable and skilled actress. Disregarding the fact that she was always busy, it was really hard to get her to convey our desired emotion. For instance, when she is breaking up with John, she kept smiling, which was out of character. In addition, we could have improved on developing the relationship between the two after the surgery a little more thoroughly. This would give a better justification of why she wanted to leave them. Last, I think we could have improved on the dialogue At times the dialogues is either very cliche or is unrealistic which took away from the validity of the scene. Despite all of the problems, i thought that our film "Blinded" was a good showcase of my groups' talent in film making.

Trailer: Immortals

The trailer that i reviewed was Immortals.This film based on a mythological war, in which one hero tries to protect an entire human race. This plot was revealed by the simple techniques used in the trailer. As the audience, i was dragged in by the creative way they presented their narrative which was enhanced by the cinematography, sound design. and the editing. I was first intrigued by the slow motion effects and the peculiar positioning f the camera. This shot was placed under the ground as if those in the frame were floating; thus, giving it the surreal effect that matches the film. The scoring at this point is also very slow, allowing it to build up as the action builds up.

This trailer also included many bizarre frames and characters. in this frame, people are biting a certain stick while covered in a an interesting powder-like substance. This close framing puts the audience in an uncomfortable position as they are so close to these odd characters. At this point, the sound is in the process of getting louder and louder, adding the intensity to the film, enhancing the emotions within the audience.

As the trailer comes to a close, the scoring has risen to the highest, making it the peak of the action. The coloring has been altered in order to give the gigantic wave a tyrnical feeling as the colors are very drab. This framing gives whole coverage of the way in comparison to the town; it presents the wave as a large overwhelming threat to the protagonist that he will face. Considering all of these components, it makes this trailor very appealing.

Run Lola Run Critique

     The aspect of film that my group discussed was Acting within the film Run Lola Run. The way we approached this was not only by looking at Franka Potente, the actor behind Lola, but also by demonstrating Lola's progression throughout the film by the three sequences, and demonstrated how the surrounding characters helped Lola's character evolve. Considering the evolution of the German socialism genre, Lola represented a rebellious women who breaks through the social "norm" of women always relying on them due to a particular weakness they have. Although German's weren't fond of this film and its depiction of a German women, this strong-willed character develops an iconography around her name due to her aggressive, confident actions. Along with that, her exotic hair and rag-tag clothing supplements her ambitious, relentless character. She exceeds the parameters that women once had in society. Perhaps this iconic character allows for a revelation of women's' general image in society which, in turn, may have accurately suited Tom Twyker's intentions. She acts a tool of language that Twyker uses to justify his intended message behind the film.
    Within the film, Lola is first characterized as  a passive, yet confident person. This hesitance and uncertainty is what prevents her from saving both herself and Manni. This is shown throughout the whole first sequence. In the beginning when her father denies her the money, she is left with nothing to bring to Manni, thus setting herself up for a failed mission. Along with that, her uncertainty is scoped when she is uncomfortable with Manni's feelings towards her. Manni acts as a catalyst to drive Lola's emotions to commit her rebellious acts. In the second scene, Lola becomes very aggressive. For instance, she holds up a gun to her own father in order to get what she wants. Yet, in the second scene, Manni questions her love for him. This unbalance in mutual feelings for each leads to their failures, for in the last sequence, their success proves their excessive love for one another.
    Throughout our presentation, i thought we touched on many key aspects of acting within this film. I thought our background knowledge of the actors was very appropriate for the project. This helped communicate to the audience the different relationships that the director and actors had in putting this film together as suspected. This was essential in this particular film because Tom Twyker and Franka Potente formerly dated each other; therefore, Twyker's vision may of women may have been skewed by his connection with Franka; perhaps he is implying that Franka has served him similarly to how Lola served Manni. Along with that, i thought we had a good, in depth analysis of Lola's character and how the game theory was applied in terms of the characters. We accurately demonstrated her growth and culmination throughout the film, as broken up between the different sequences. For instance, Anissa talked about her excessive love towards Manni. Then, i suggested that this love led to her aggressive behavior as shown when she threatens her father. Last, Maria summed it up by stating that she had supernatural powers (As shown by her screaming in the casino to get her way). These interconnected points allowed us to cover the dynamics of Lola's characters as well as the role of the other characters through their effect on Lola.
      On the other hand, i thought their was some holes in our project. I believe that at points we veered away from the given topic, myself being a prime example. I realized that i tended to talk about camera movement and editing when making my points, and although they helped support my claim of Manni and Lola's relationship, it didn't cover how acting itself helped portray this. I thought we could've improved by talking of how Lola is an iconic character and how her actions helped communicate recurring motifs and themes as opposed to simply characterizing her persona. On another note, i thought we could have constructed the organization of our presentation a little better so the points were clearer and showed differentiation. Despite this, i thought our project was solid and generally clear to the audience.

Character in Time: Treatment: Decisions

Logline: A generous man has came across a conflict between his generosity and morals. His brother has been stealing from his family and is stricken quizzically on how to react. Mortgage is around the corner and he must make a decision.

     Jeff has just concluded a meeting with his club on how much they have raised for their tsunami foundation. As he packs up he kindly assists the others with questions they have, in a very polite manner. As he leaves he receives a call from his dad, who asks " I left 10 for you and Jole for dinner on the table" and Jeff says "okay thank you, i'll talk to you later, okay bye".

     Jeff gets home and searches on the table under books for the money (a dirty tint in background to enhance poverty), but he can't find it. His father walks in the door (pan) and places his hat on another table. While he asks about dinner, he takes out a bunch of napkins from his work out of a plastic bag and sets them on an old microwave. The father asks him "what did you get for dinner".
    Jeff says "well i didn't get dinner . . "
   "Well why not?"  
    "Well, Jo --" Jole walks by staring at Jeff with a scared leer. "I'll just eat leftovers"
    Jeff is working on his laptop trying to finish his homework. His brother walks in very warily. He closes the door very gently he rushes to the bed and tries to convince Jeff not to tell their dad where the money has been going. Jeff informs Jole that he is putting this family in danger and that money is tight. His brother leaves on that note, stating at last "Thank you", and Jeff uncomfortably nods his head.
   A week later, the door bell rings, and Jeff answers the door. A man is dressed in a suit asking for his father, so Jeff retrieves him. Jeff eavesdrops on the conversation and discovers that unless he pays his debts, they will be asked to leave and find a new home. Jeff looks at his brother, who is hesitant to make eye contact with him. His father walks back into the house after he shuts the door and questions where all his money has gone. Not a word is spoken.

     The audience enters the mind of Jeff, as he becomes a narrator. He contemplates on what the right thing to do is. He struggles to make a decision, but looks to (A symbol) to help guide him.
     two days have past and the father comes home and slams the door shut yelling. Father rages and asks questions of where his money has gone. Jeff asks "where is your work uniform". His father rambles through stacks of books and papers, throwing everything out of his way rambling to get the money. Jeff trembles in fear, and under pressure, he cracks and reveals that his brother has been taking it. His father turns his anger onto Jole, and all Jole can do is submit and return the movie.
   Days past, and father solemnly gets up from a chair after paying the bills. Camera dolly into the room in which Jeff is crying as he holds a newspaper. Jole was caught in a shooting as a result of not paying for what he had borrowed.
       * ending may need serious revision, but this is a basic framework for what i am trying to get through to the audience.

Character in Time

This portrait is one of the famous jazz musician (trumpet player) Miles Davis. His beautiful music had innovated both the culture and general play of jazz music, and inspired the music that we listen today. In my story, this character represents the emotional distress that he is dealing with at the moment. As a child, he lived in a time of poverty and struggle to get through the day. His emotional engagement to better the world through his gift of music has harped on his mind on a consistent basis. His troubled past conflicts with his present, so he tries to break through, but he is constantly reminded of it through his experiences through music. He does his best to achieve happiness by pleasing others with his innocent, inspiring music. Flashbacks play a key factor in his because it conveys his personal past that reveals why he is so disturbed in the present. Time can be manipulated in multiple ways to amplify the meaning behind the peace: perhaps time can be sped up as he observes to reflect on his personal views on life. Contrarily, time can be slowed down to suggest importance on a particular moment that is crucial to the plot and how it can deeply effect the character.

Broadcast Critique (summer)

     The segment that my partner and I chose to do the segment on was "Capuchino Summer 2011"; a piece about what students of cap did during their summer vacation. We came up with this idea because simply it was the only obvious one to us that wasn't taken, and we chose it because it was relevant and potentially interesting. It was very easy finding people to interview because everyone took part in summer one way or the other other, but we chose students from our own class because it was convenient and moved the process along quicker, for we knew that we would have to send it out on tape the first weak to preserve its content. Our questions were very focused on summer, and we formed questions in order to extract out the most interesting parts of their summer in order to make the piece more lively and fun for the audience, such "What did you wish you did this summer", and one funny response was "I wish i got kidnapped and put into a van and drove away".

      The production during the interview was a little rough due to many factors. When we did the interviews, their was construction on all three levels of the campus, so during the interviews, their is faint sound of construction work going on that is a bit distracting.  Another aspect that we could'nt very well control was the lighting; the clouds were out so it was somewhat dull. We definitely didn't like the outcome of this part because it didn't resemble the joyous ideas of summer: the sun is out with palm trees and vibrant scenery. As the man behind the camera, i made a decision to sacrifice following the rule of thirds and putting the interviewee off to the side in order to capture dual graphic vectors that covered the z-axis. On one side of the camera were lunch tables lined up, and on the other was a row of plants. I decided to do this because it called for a very interesting setting and shot, and also because it made the scenery very green which is generally appealing.

      The script was a strong component of this segment. The opener was full of colorful words such as "bustling" and "adventure". Along with that, the voice itself was very fluent and jolly, producing a welcoming and exciting voice to grab the audiences attention. We also used voice overs to cover for the different questions that we asked our interviewees. These as well were well produced and welcoming. The grand "finale" was a good wrap up that really demonstrated the distinction and uniqueness of this summer in comparison to all of the previous summers as stated by the words "this summer will definitely go down in the memory books".
     The main difficulty in producing this segment was finding b-roll do resemble what is being said, but we coped with this difficulty by retrieving clips and images from the internet (primarily google images and youtube). We placed these clips in the front and end of each individual interview to avoid jump cuts between different people answering the same questions. On the other hand, we didnt use any audio transitions, we thought it was unnecessary to do so because we just need audio for the corresponding interviews. We placed a subtle background music that was upbeat and summer-like vibe to it to match the segment itself, and in the end we raised its level to provide for a fuller effect and a finished feeling. For the images, we placed them directly after an interviewee mentioned something that deals with that particualar image.

      Overall, i was proud of this piece because it was satisfactory and accomplished our basic goals. Though i wish we could have gotten our own b-roll footage and got out to beaches or so to maximize our experience, i was satisfied with the b-roll we ended up with and the content of the interviews was very good. If i had more time, i would like to go out and gather my own b-roll to bring the quality of the project up, and make the its correspondence with the interviews a little more close. The most important lesson that i learned from this project is to choose a topic that will enable you to get some good and doable b-roll, instead of taking from the internet.

Domestic - short film

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004pc9y
     The short film that i had reviewed was Domestic by Suzi Ewing. This 12 minute comedy was produced in 2002 of a man who's "profession" is to clean strangers houses who do not seem to have any hygienic stability. Yet this man's approach is very unorthodox: he sneaks into the houses like a burglar (i.e. through the window) instead of getting their permission to clean their house. In this particular visit, a man and his wife have just exited their house as the man throws a milk carton on the floor before they departed. The cleaning man, with his brief case, hos in through an open window and examines the horrid scene of the house. Dishes are compiled on the counter with left over food that has yet to be washed out into the sink. The man, understanding the task that is needed to be done, puts down his brief case and begins his cleaning. He washes the dishes, mops the floor, dusts a golden lamp, and straightens out the bed. When he just finishes matting out the bed, he hears a key turn; the man and his wife have returned. He quickly scatters under the bed and waits to it is clear. Meanwhile, the man and his wife are in utter disbelief with the transformation. The women, filled with joy and anxiety, turns to her husband and kisses him thinking that it was him that has done the cleaning. The man excited by his wife's joy accepts it, and they enter the bedroom. The cleaning man awkwardly lies under the bed as the couple. . . does their business. Once  the couple was asleep, the man slithers from underneath, grabs his suitcase, and exits, throwing away the milk carton on the way. The cleaning man returns to his wife at home with a smile on his face and a story to tell.

      Many unique cinematography tactics were used throughout this film. These tactics were often used to portray a mood and character identification since this movie lacked of much music and dialogue. Cinematography was very powerful in this film as well to portray the underhandedness of the main character, the cleaning man. In this particular shot, the cleaning man is scoping out the house that he will be choosing to clean for the day. The positioning behind the windshield of the car and the  long shot itself in relation the man allows to create the sneaky aspect of this man as his "profession" is to break into houses and clean them. This shot satisfies one aspect of this oxymoronic character as it begins to reveal is underhanded character, yet this shot hides the glorious aspect of his character; thus, leading the audience to believe that he is solely up to mischief. The attached shadows within the car enhance this portrayal as well. The positioning of the camera is also significant in this shot as it creates a high amount of depth of field as created by the fences in front of the house, and the rule of thirds is also considered within the shot allowing a clear visual of the man and the car as it continues to dolly around the car.

        This particular shot is when the man is just beginning to get to work and clean the house. The camera slowly dollies around him as he first ties up his apron, then puts on his first glove, and is in the process of putting on the second one. This is a very active shot as the man is putting on all of the appropriate cleaning apparel, running the water, and the camera is moving as well. This "busy" framing helps portray the following work that the man will have to do. Along with that, their background of many cups and dishes also helps portray this message. Ironically, the music that begins to play is very joyful and relaxing which, in turn, contradicts this depicted message. But perhaps this method is used to characterize the man. The calming and joyful music suggests that the man himself is happy doing these manual labors and doesn't see the work he has to do as daunting, but rather appealing.  The relatively dark lighting also helps show how dirty and unwelcoming this house really is.

      This shot happens when the couple have just arrived home. They had already checked out the new, clean house and have just met up again after scrutinizing the rooms. The women believes that her husband has done all of this, so she says " Your are an angel" and repeats this over and over again. This shot includes the angel that the cleaning man picked up in the shot. the angel is facing both of the characters as this is being said. Perhaps the angel is symbolic for the man's deeds, despite the fact that the women is mistaken. This conveys an important message within this short film: generous deeds such as helping others in what they lack brings out the true angel within us; therefore, bringing peace with the world. This is directly shown as the man and women hug each other in complete happiness. Last, it also seems to have pulled each other closer to one another as before when the couple had a messy home, they seemed to be somewhat miserable, but now they seem like the happiest couple to be possible.

       This particular shot is when the couple have just ended a long night together and are now asleep. the cleaning man has been waiting under the bed for multiple hours. this shot begins with a blurry shot of him in this position. Suddenly, the women's arm goes down, focusing on the hand and the cigarette. after, the camera rack focuses back to the man, repulsed by the cigarette. This position of the women's lackadaisical arm signifies that the man is able to leave now.   

Production Portfolio - Outlet

Rationale: The film that I made is titled “outlet”, a film about how a young man uses basketball to escape the difficult aspects of life such as school, his family, and his girlfriend; hence, an “outlet”. I wanted to do this for two essential reasons: I myself use sports to escape hard times, and basketball contains many different sounds that can easily connect to different, common things. The intended audience for this film is for a mature audience as it is personal, and to some a little daunting.

Commentary: In this film, I was responsible for the job of the director as well as the cinematographer; I contributed to other jobs as well. As a director, I had to overlook the other jobs in pre-production, production, and post-production. I had to conduct the script to the actors, make production-schedules, confirm that everything needed was provided, and overlook the final outcome of the film. As the cinematographer, I was responsible for making a location diagram, grabbing equipment for production, and managed all of the camera angles and shots. I encountered many problems throughout the process. To begin with, finding a way to translate the script and concept into a film was quite demanding. 

Considering that the film initially required an inside basketball court as well as two full teams, I tried to arrange something that would provide the same meaning to the audience and still  be an adequate set; therefore, I was able to group together two teams of three wearing similar

apparel to distinguish the teams and provided an outside basketball court. Since their was an ample amount of extras involved, i had to arrange a time and place that was suitable for all of them and had consistent weather. The first day for the basketball scene, we went to a secluded place (Allen Elementary School) on a rainy day to emphasize the dedication of the young man. 

As the day progressed, the weather became unbearable, so the actors as well as myself agreed to call it a day and to resume our shooting on the other day. Unfortunately, the weather never returned so we were forced to re-shoot the scene, and since school was going on in Allen when i was able to assemble all of the actors again, we were forced to shoot at Capuchino High School, our last option. We managed to finish the whole scene on the windy day. Less troubling problems included going out of battery while in the process of shooting and forgetting important equipment that is crucial to a specific scene. For example, we let another group borrow a camera that we needed for the scene where the young man gets yelled at by his mother, so we showed up to our location without an adequate camera, so we returned home without any footage and  decided to do it another day.

Problems dealing with the whole group begins with the trouble of sound design. As a sound film, we had a very hard time making the “trigger sounds” very clear and distinct for the audience. Our sound designer, Waris Allie, worked very hard in finding the appropriate sounds for the film, and considering this difficulty, My other partner Luis and I, openly helped him out as he helped us out with our personal jobs. Another crucial flaw within this process was the amount of editing. Since we didn’t finish the filming until very late in the process, a lot of pressure was put on our editor, Luis Velasquez. As both the cinematographer and director, I am fully responsible for the lack of time that our editor had to prepare the film. Both Waris and Luis were able to dodge the hurdles that I created for them and did a decent job.

       Overall, I think that our film is good and amusing throughout each aspect of the film, especially the connections with the sounds. Beginning with the concept, i felt like it was solid and set us up for success. It included a various amount of scenes with interesting and diverse locations. For instance, the scenes included a basketball court, homes, as well as a college campus. These different settings appeals to the audience as they won’t get board looking at the same background or repetitive shots. The only exhausting part within this film is repetitiveness within the acting, yet it was appropriate. For instance, the young man’s mother began yelling at him as well as the teacher began yelling at him, which is very repetitive as far as the plot goes. this also forces the actor to react in the same way, which begins to get dull and boring. Yet, what redeemed this was the acting and variety of shots to emphasize the great acting. For instance, in the girlfriend scene, the girlfriend, Maria Luevano, presented her character in a spectacular way. She was easy to direct and provided the conceited, arrogant character that was expected of her.

This was enhanced by the last shot of the scene, when the camera circles around the boy and follows her out of the door all in one sequence. I would also like to acknowledge the character of the young man, who’s emotion s were consistent throughout the whole film. although he tended to smile a lot in production, he managed to stay composed  throughout most of the filming process. We managed to get a variety of different actors that we haven’t used before (with the exception of the young man John Ababseh). We managed to develop some of the characters as much as possible through the camera angles and shots. For instance, to depict the fact that basketball was the young man’s peaceful place, we rack focused a number of the shots from the trees and plants to the basketball court.

Similar to this, to express the character of the young man’s mother, we included a statue of a tyrant within the frame of the shot, suggesting that she is very abusive and demanding of him.

     Another important aspect of the film is the special effects within the film. To film the basketball scene, we used the 7D camera in order to shoot 60 frames per second in order to fluidly slow down our film. With the film greatly slowed down, audience can identify the scene as the center piece of the film as it the most time consuming and each movement is very dramatic. Also, we pounded on many different filters and effects to pronounce the different “trigger sounds”.

We incorporated to different camera movements to show this; When the sound of the basketball dribble is the sound that reminds the boy of school, we used many different techniques. For instance, to present the dribbling, we put the dolly track on a large slope and pedistalled/dollyed down to the ball in a close up to show the ball. To support this even more we did many color correction to showed, this, as well as used many earie sounds to show this uncomfortable transition, as it is also uncomfortable for the  young man himself. Despite these neat effects, I feel like we lacked some close-up shots that would support the basketball scene that would distinguish certain things a bit better.

       I also thought the lighting was significant within each scene. Generally, in the basketball scene, is very bright, reflecting happiness within the young man. On the other hand, the other scenes where the young man is having a bad time, the lighting is generally darker than usual, showing a certain cynicism behing the scenes.

     Although my personal vision didn’t quite meet up with the final outcome of the film, I was happy with what did come out of it. It may be confusing to the audience in some instances, yet I would like to think that they would appreciate the quirkiness and elusiveness of the film. The characters are well portrayed and although their may be some wholes within the plot, it is sufficient enough to understand the central meaning and ideas behind the film as a whole.

Gladiator- Narrative

        The movie I will be focusing on is Gladiator, during the beginning of the film after the Roman battle in Germania. I will focus on the character of Commodus and how his cynical and deceitful character promotes the plot and enhances the characters around him.     
          In the beginning of the film Gladiator, the emperor, Marcus Aralias, has ruled for quite a long time and is getting too old to rule and is getting ready to make his decision to pass his powers on to someone else, which ideally would be his son. But, he ends up deciding to pass his powers on to Maximus Decimus Maradus, and not his own son Commidus. He chooses Maximus, a strong, brilliant general of he Roman Army, because he contains the four virtues that call for successful ruler as claimed by Marcus Aralias: resourcefulness, temperance, justice, and fortitude; which Commodus doesn't have. 

           In the beginning as Marcus Aralias appears behind his son Commodus, he begins with "Are you ready to do your duty for Rome?",  leading Commodus to believe that he will be emperor. Directly after, he says, "You will not be emperor . . . i am giving my powers over to Maximus". This quickly strikes Commodus, bringing tears within his eyes. This makes him start expressing the cynicism within his character. He then avoids his father as he tries to caressing his cheeks. Commodus then states, " I realize that I have none of [those virtues, but has] ambition, . . . courage . . . and devotion", thus, showing his desire to be emperor. Commodus' reaction to this is somewhat childish as prior to this, he is shown as a light-hearted person, especially after the battle. After this though, he becomes stubborn and petty to get what he wants, even if it means going to the extremity of killing his own father. Considering that Maximus loved and admired Marcus Aralias, this sparks the rivalry between him and Commodus, thus helping the plot grow and intensify. Along with that, by commiting this act of patricide, he strips Maximus of his powers and takes them for himself.  During their conversation, the camera is positioned to stalk Commodus as it is positioned right behind him. This shows a certain resemblance between the two, foreshadowing  a certain comparison between the two.

          The Room is lightly dimmed on one side of the room. As Commodus speaks, he has fast falloff on his face with the camera looking up at him. This gives him a dominance over his father who is kneeling down. Since the camera is looking down at Marcus Arelias, the falloff is practically unnoticable, giving him innocence and a sense of security in the eyes of the audience. But with the camera working to show Commodus as dominant, it hints that in this situation Commodus has more power than his father despite his position as the emperor of Rome. In addition, since the location is secluded and concealed from the outside eye and ear, it enhances the instability and the uncomfortable position of Marcus Aralias.

      In the beginning of the scene as Commodus enters the room, we hear wind blowing from the curtains. This ghastly sound creates a disturbance in the easiness of the room. In this scene, the non-digetic music is very subtle and pretty calm, but as the scene progresses, so does the music. in the end, the music ends very loud and glaring, dominating the scene, making it a little uncomfortable for the audience. The high volume enhances the importance of the film, establishing it as a turning point. The music seems to match the emotions of Commodus: as he gets more angry, so does the music. This scene is where the music is the loudest. Here, he is in the process of strangling his father, slowly sucking the life out of him.

              In the beginning of the scene, the opening shot is panning as Commodus is walking towards the sculpture, and then he touches its face. The sculpture is of his father's (the emperor) head. In the beginning, it seems like an admirable figure, but in the end of the scene, the sculpture transforms from an emperor, to a tyrant as the death of Marcus Aralias put Commodus as the new emperor.  the harsh, pounding music foreshadows the problems and brutality that will come with his rule. the sculpture also has a fast falloff, symbolizing a certain maniacal charcteristic in it. the camera here pedistals down, matching the position of Commodus' dominance.
             This scene ultimately establishes the characteristics of Commodus. Commodus' goal and desire to please his father appeals to the audience, as it is both innocent and understanding. This innocence is also shown throughout to be liked by everyone around him and to respect him. Right after this scene, he asks fo Maximus' hand once, and is turned down, cementing the bad blood between them.  He constantly appeals to the fans at the arena later on in the film, claiming to be "merciful", despite the fact that he always sets up what would be expected for Maximus' downfall. On the other hand, his own jealousy torments him, bringing him to become a murder of not only Marcus Aralias, but also Maximus' son and wife, influencing Maximus to feel the same hatred for Commodus as Commodus does Maximus. Commodus continuously tries to kill Maximus as he becomes a slave of Rome, and throws him in the arena constantly at a disadvantage.
            Commodus' character also works to bring out the role of his sister, Lucilla. Despite the fact that she is a strong women, because she is a women during this time period, she is unable to escape or stand up to her brother, and bystands his harsh decisions and acts. Commodus' character drags her onto the side of Maximus', leaving him with nobody to support him.
          Commodus' conflicting character creates the perfect villain for this movie. He deceives the ones that he "loves", but still strives to do "good" for the people of Rome.

Gladiator-socio-culture & history

 

                                             Gladiator- Institution and history; Socio-culture

Historical and Institutional Factors:

       The film Gladiator was a film directed by Ridley Scott in the DreamWorks studio as well as Shepperton Studios for specific reasons dealing with actors. This film was released in 200, yet it was influenced by 1960 films. Their isn’t any political background during this film to help influence it. Scott Ridley thought that since a new millennium was embarking, that he would reflect on the past through this film.

       This film did extremely well for its time. This film was made in time for the 73^rd Academy Awards and blew its opponents away. It one five awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual effects, Best Costume Design, and Best Sound. It also won many awards in the Golden Globe Awards as well as the BAFTA Awards. This film led to the “Gladiator Effect” as named by New York Times that led to the upbringing in interest in Roman and classical history. This film ended up making among the top of the year 2,000. In the U.S., it made a total of over 187 million, and 457,640,427 throughout the world.

Socio-culture:

       Gladiator is a film that attempts to portray the life of Ancient Rome. in this movie, Ridley Scott portrays this era as a very gruesome and bloody time. Not many films before this one has attempted to dive into this almost ancient life. Their were films though such as Sparticus that resembled this movie but included "annoying anachronisms of psychology" according to David Neelin. The main character, Maximus Decimus Meridus, was formally a commander of the Roman Army, but after the emperor Marcus Arelias tells his son Commodus that he is going to hand over his powers to Maximus, he goes frantic. To start his frenzy, he kills his father in order to hold the power to himself. with this power, he tries to create his own Rome with the initiative of trying to make people like him, which is uncommon for a successful ruler which is apparent as the film progresses. With the character of Commodus in charge of the empire, he allows us to be exposed to the brutal life of Rome. but with his came some faulty history. For instance, during this time, the emperor would never be addressed as "sire" or "my lord". Along with that, at this time their wasn't an emperor, yet their were two consuls who had equal power. with this being said, Rome was formed as a republic rather than a dictatorship. Also, this film depicted 3 years of Rome, but Commodus ruled for 12 years according to contentmaster. In addition, an aspect that wasnt shown was Commodus execution of his sister for trying to assassinate him, thus, showing more brutality of Rome. Gladiator did an exquisite job picking certain aspects of Rome to depict the life of Rome despite some minor changes in the history.

sound film treatment

oral presenrtation; gladiator

the film i have chsen to d for my oral presenation is Glagiator. this film is an action, adventure, and drama focusing on the disasters and contraversies that are handled by the protagonist known as "the spaniard", "the gladiator", or more formally known, Maximus Decimus Meridius. this film was directected by Ridley Scott, who focused on some aspcts that made this film what it is. some things that helped determine its genre is the development of the early primary conflict and the quick exposure of Maximus' character. To drag in the audience rapidly, Ridley decided to put much action in the beginning; a war scene. in this opening, Marcus Aurelias is the emporer which Maximus serves under as he top general. This scene is shown with some greusome images and sword-fighting, but in turn shows the impressive skills of Maximus.After establishing this action portion of it, a drama is enabled due tovthe early main conflict of the death of the emporer, by his son, a young man who strives to pleasehis father but can never do so. the son, Commodus, strangles his father to death in order tovplace the crown on himself befrore it was relinquished to Maximus.Along with that, Commodus sends him to exile and kills his family, ths beginning the dramatic development of the film. Maximus' goal is to free his men and to be reunited with his family, which can only be achieved through his death. The image of his death is recurred throughout the move as he passes through the fields, and is carressing the plants as he approaches his family further on the path. this film's ability to intertwie these different genres proveswhy it won 5 awards, including Best Picture.
   thi film was immensely influenced by "the sword and sandal" genre such as The Fall of the Roman Empire and Sparticus. in these movies, each protagonist has a position in relation to the thrown. both dealing with a father of another and have devious plans to sabotage the loyal persom that deserves it. Overall, in these films, they all contain a protagonist that main goal is to better Rome and servethe wants of the people.`
  what we can infer about its creator, Ridley Scott, is that he is big on action and adventure movies. Some of his other films include Alien and Black Hawk Down which are very filled with action. This idea very well suits his life as he was raised  in an army family nd joined as a navy merchant when he was young. Also, he was boen to a royal family in England which is why he may be so fimiliar with the high staus in places such as Rome where Gladiator had taken place. this film shares a lot of similarites to his other films bacause i have oticed that he always manages to find a very very good antagonist. they come in different forms but they all dominate the films and are the main cause of problems to the protagonist and challenges their character the most. Many similar approaches that Ridley Scot has in all of his films is that he usually gets close up in all of the action. ll of hisfighting scenes are emotional and intense because they are pulled in so tight. Another approach that Ridley Scott uses for his films that is widely known in his pieces is his comfortability with his actors. He allows them a lot of freedom and takes theirnsuggestions into consideration. he is also vry focused on atmospheric lighting, which is closely demonstrated in Gladiator when commodus looks through his window and sees the beautiful verizon. Ridley Scott is an amazing director who has made some brilliant films.