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.