Independent Research Script Reflection- "Saving Private Ryan" & "City of God"

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eYM29SGiDj6rdbkjdELzgDIXtVEBgsuUesHDqrm2Hz8/edit

Although I made attempts at referring to film history, these attempts were not developed as well as they could have. I introduced the evolution of war photography. I stated that everything involving war began with the people believing it to be real. Even though it was staged, the audience had no idea. However, as time progressed, they learned to get used to the constant bombardment of violence and therefore the standards of  photographing war were raised. This could have been a good time to dwell into some aesthetics of the genre and talk about some theories involving it, yet these ideas were not talked about.

If this was turned into a documentary, there would probably seem a disconnect with the audience. Not enough was done to get and keep the audience's attention. Reading it, it seems more like an essay rather than an engaging piece for anyone to enjoy. Although some of the arguments have depth in them, they fall flat in scope. For example, there is clear information on the story behind the film and the struggle of the actors, yet there is nothing that connects it to the bigger picture.

This is one of the things that was done well. There are constant references to multiple different and reliable sources in the forms of articles, essays, and videos. Not only do these come from the people involved in the film (such as the actors and directors), but also from outside sources who have looked closely at the film and analyzed it bit by bit. The only issue here is that although they are relevant, they just need to click together a little better. Yes, they are linked to what I am talking about, but they could be linked together in a better way.

Compared to the audio, the video elements seem a little tenuous. The audio is written well, but again it seems too much like an essay and not an engaging and interesting piece ready for a real documentary analysis of both of the movies.

Both of the films (Saving Private Ryan and City of God) clearly relate to the topics of war photography and preserving realism in film. Now that I look back at it, the term "realism" could have been defined as well. In the definition, I could have talked about early 20th century film movements that led to the creation of this term and the basic conventions that it follows in terms of editing and cinematography. Nevertheless, I'd say that there were insightful comparisons made between the two films but the precision of these comparisons can debatable. I would say that the comparisons could have improved. There wasn't that much too improve on, but they could still have flowed better with better transitions used between them.

End of Year Reflection

My strength would be my knowledge of not just movies, but TV shows as well. I constantly referred to TV shows and their interesting story lines as film as their usage of filmic techniques. Honestly, there are people in the class who has seen way more films that I have, but I am still able to talk about the research. When researching, I would like to say that "ebscohost" helped, but I did honestly did not help me find the research I was looking for. The only interesting article it ever provided for me was when I was researching the film Psycho. I always looked, but I never found good articles. Sometimes, I never found any relevant articles. That is the area I would say I need help in. I'd say that I only needed help finding scholarly writing during my research throughout the year. I don't think there is a set way to teach students how to research, but maybe exposing students to more reliable sites could prove helpful.


My strength approaching the oral presentation was the amount of time I put into the research for the film. This time, "ebsochost" proved to be helpful due to the vast history and impact of Psycho on the film industry. The blog posts we did forced us to research early if we didn't want to start so early. Next year for my presentation, I think I just need to work on presenting it in a way that I sound like I know what I'm saying. Also, I need to stay focused on the real life events of the film rather than the real life events of the people it was influenced by. Next year, it would help if we were also forced to do this research because it would force us to no procrastinate. Also, I know this is hard to do, but I feel like we should get a little more time to work on it. I felt like presentations came too quickly.


This year, I got a chance to work with gear that I had not thought would use. For example, I used sliders, steadicams, audio gear (H4n) , lenses, cameras (7D), and lights. The most I learned from was using the lights I used in El Camino, the first short film we made this year. Not only did I learn about the Noir genre, but also the many of ways to light a scene to make the image more appealing. I was able to use this techniques I learned during that and improve the lighting in the documentary I made (Youth and Government). The are I need to work on in my filmmaking is the story-telling aspect, which is a HUGE area. I know the filmmaking techniques, but I cannot tell a good, visual story. I honestly don't know how to improve my storytelling because if I knew, I mostly likely already would have tried it.

Brazilian Cinema and City Of God

Todorov’s theory of an equilibrium.

According to this theory, disequilibrium arrives after equilibrium which then paves the way for new equilibrium. This can be easily seen reflected in City of God. When the movie begins, there is peace. Although it is not the way normal society is used to seeing peace, it is peace nonetheless. However, is is soon disrupted after the massacre in the brothel by Lil Dice. This results in the eventual downfall of the members of the "Tender Trio." When Lil Dice becomes Lil Ze and takes control of the city, there is equilibrium again. Although he used years of violence to get to where he his, he has achieve peace in the City of God. However, his further involvement in the violence leads to an all out war in the middle of the city between Lil Ze and Knockout Ned's gangs. Finally at the end of the movie, everything is restored. However, the director shows little children walking away from the camera talking about killing someone they dislike because they are the ones in power now. The shot is static and everything is visible in the frame due to the deep focus. This allows for the audience to soak in all the action they just witnessed only to see the cycle repeat itself all over again.


Narrative Enigma 

Narrative enigmas, or unanswered questions that mislead the audience, is one of the many techniques seen in the film. This is done through the audience's knowledge coming into account and predicting what is likely to happen. This hypothesis is made from the prior knowledge gained from the film. The best example of this is Tiago and Bene's race. From what we know about Lil Ze and his associates is that they kill for what they want. When Tiago arrives, he almost seems like a burden and the way Bene chases after him is not a good sign. Additionally, the use of quick shots and reverse angles with the framing getting closer and closer to the characters adds to this sense of anxiety. However, nothing happens at the end. The set-up leads to no true expected resolution, which makes this film unique in its own way. Although it is expected that the race is going to end with Tiago suffering, the exact opposite happens; Tiago and Bene befriend one another. This misleading scene shows that the characters in the story are not as black and white as they may appear to be. They all have layers that reveal them to be more than just a caricature.


Diegetic narrative devices



These devices include newspapers, photographs, music, and T.V. interviews. The film's inclusion of newspapers and photographs show the blend of the violent world in the rest of society. Rather, it shows the desire to be separate from this world of violence. Rocket, in a way, is dependent of the society's crave for this knowledge of the less known violent society. He gets a job and gets to lose his virginity due to the opportunity given to him. Additionally, the film has a blend of modern (for the 70s) music with almost no music at all. The music playing at Bene's farewell party bring all the different groups in the city together. This further signifies the importance of culture in modern society. What I find the most interesting is actually the lack of music in specific sections. What that does is that it creates a realistic tone in which the audience does not know what to expected because there is no music for guidance. This creates for incredibly powerful and emotional scenes such as the one where Lil Ze makes a kid kill one of the Runts.

The character of Rocket is what most interest me for my personal research. It is his role as not just the narrator, but his role as a character as well. More specifically, the idea that he uses a camera as a way to protect himself from the violence is what I find the most interesting especially because traces of its importance can be seen in hand-held voyeuristic cinematography. I am interested in looking at other films who use a similar technique or form of cinematography to tell something about the story and the characters. I don't want to looking at "found footage" films because although they have something similar to what is being done in City of God, it is not done for the same reason. Cinematography of a movie like Saving Private Ryan would seem more appropriate because the shaky camerawork adds to the brutality of war.




Source:



http://brianair.wordpress.com/film-analysis/city-of-god/

City of God: Cinematic Portrayal of Violence

City of God (2002) is a film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. This coming of age story follows "Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer" (IMDb). Although the film is much, much more than just that synopsis  that is what it comes down to at its most basic plot point.

The portrayal of violence is shown through the narrator, Rocket. Rocket witnesses this violence first at a personal level, but still far away from the action. Rocket, who grows up to be a photographer finds himself getting stuck in unwanted situations from his childhood days. In a way, he represents what the audience sees because he is the character who controls what we, as the audience, can see and know to be true. Rocket is like a link from the life in the favelas and the rest of the world because as stated by Rocket: "For the powerful our problems didn't matter. We were too far removed." Even the people who work in the newspaper with Rocket and write stories about the favelas don't enter because it is too deadly for them.

"The favela is also a site of gendered violence. The City

of God is represented as almost exclusively male, and

women's bodies simply provide another site for the men to

carry out violence against one another."

In the movie, the primary directory (Fernando Meirelles) uses women is a very limited way. Wom
en in the movie are a symbol of escape and freedom from the destructive live in the favelas. The lack of a major role for women shows the lack of escape from this life of violence. The two strongest female characters in the movie are Angelica and Bernice. They both encourage their males partners to escape for a life far away from the poverty and violence. Because of this, they both lose their man and therefore they are indirectly victims of the violence. These both incidents at two different time periods show that violence will always remain the same; as long violence exists, escape is not an option.

"Throughout the film, infact, the boys are told (most often by their victims) to stop

committing crimes and study. The story of Knockout Ned at

first appears to be a moral tale on the power of education,

but the tale unfolds very differently."

Furthermore, not even education is enough for an escape. There are many "Runts" running around in the city. They are incredibly young to involved in the violence in the caliber that they are. Many of the young, like those the age of the "Runts" are told to get an education and get out of the favelas. In this scene from the movie, the Runts are surrounded by L'il Ze and his men. The directed opts for the lack of music in this powerful scene to show the realistic effects of violence on children and their involvement in this lifestyle. However, escaping from that lifestyle is not so simple. Knockout Ned is a heroic figure to Rocket for being "too cool." He got an education and even served in the military, yet he ends up becoming a major gang leader. There is a glimpse of hope when the entire city begins looking up to him as someone who has the potential to stop the violence. However, he is corrupted by the power he gains by working with Carrot. He goes from not killing the innocent to shooting anyone who defiles his orders. Although there is still good inside him, he has gone too far into the world of chaos and disorder that there is no more return to his old honest life.

"Rocket uses the camera to obliterate his rival, Tiago,

composing his pictures and directing his subjects so as to

throw Tiago into shadow...His

amateur photography becomes the proof of status that

allows Rocket safe passage and a measure of respect;

while the other characters are perpetually armed with

conventional weaponry, Rocket is protected by his camera."

Although it is hard to escape from the life of violence, it is fairly easy for it to become the normal because after a while "you got used to living in Vietnam." Although everyone does not have something protecting them other than a gun, Rocket does; he has is camera. In a way, the camera is Rocket's gun. In that, it gives him respect from the biggest gangsters and a way to escape their wrath when the time came. When Rocket is about to take a photograph of everyone in the group in the middle of the street, a gunshot is fired at the exact time the shutter clicks to take the picture. His subject is shot from the gunfire coming form behind Rocket. This scene serves as a way to show that Rocket's camera is protecting him. Being associated with a camera gives Rocket a voyeuristic privilege. He gets to spy on others from a safe distance. This is reflected though the film's cinematography.  César Charlone, the film's cinematographer, goes opts to go for a hand-held look which reflect's the narrator's occupation as a photographer. Also, giving the film such a hand-held look makes it feel more personal and realistic rather than cinematic. The use of real locations in crowded buildings with sweaty men and minimal lighting adds to the sense of realism that Meirelles was trying to convey.

"The City of God is plagued by economic as well as

physical violence. Attempts by the poor to earn a living are

obstructed by the system, as when Rocket is forced to

abandon his fish, his family's livelihood, on the side of the

road."

In the City of God, violence and poverty go hand-in-hand just like in real life. From early on in the film, it feels that both crime and poverty are inescapable. "In the early segments of the film, shown as a direct response to poverty. In the first sequence, set in the 1960s, the 'Tender Trio' hold up a gas truck." Although this is an act of violence against the driver, it is also an act of heroism for the side of the city. They don't simply steal gas and money; they provide a small glimpse at escape from the poverty. The trio feels the need to do this because they are doing this to provide "money to the smaller boys and to their families." Although this is taken lightly to set up a comedic tone, it serves a greater purpose because it shows that all violence is not more violence. This is contradictory to Rocket's statement: "War was an excuse for everything." Even under L'il Ze's reign, the city is under protection and there is peace. This just goes to show that violence will not always instantly result in more violence; it is just inevitable in the future.

"The film in fact suggests that violence

defies not only representation, but also explanation.

Motives are suggested - evilness, vengeance, territorialism,

animal instinct, initiation, and self-definition - but none

seem adequate to explain the omnipresence of violence in

the favela."

As seen later on violence does erupt and it is to the max. Where once the 'Tender Trio' had once help up a gas truck to try to save the city, L'il Ze holds up a similar truck for his own escape. Prior to that, both sides (Knockout Ned's and L'il Ze's) are recruiting anyone willing to fight. This is shown through a montage which uses quick cuts with multiple close-up and medium close-up of young boys. They all sort of repeat a similar "unbelievable" reason to get a gun and fight. This is followed by quick gun shots and firefights and more young boys again. The quick moving shots in this montage not just shows the passing of time without any change, but also the intensity of the fights. These same quick shots are present throughout the movie involving any action. Combined with the hand-help camerawork, they become powerful tools in preserving realism in the film and its violence.  

Source:
http://cinephile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/carlsten-cityofgod.pdf

Short Film: Genre Research

For this upcoming short film project, I would like the genre of my short film to be a Drama. My last short film was a noir and I want this new film to feel nostalgic. I recently saw October Sky its whole nostalgic 1950s/1960s tone was incredibly welcoming. Clearly I was not born in that time period, but I still felt a connection with the characters and the world they were living in. It is also a film about self discovery through real friends. At its heart, it is coming of age story where the main character is trying to gain the respect of his father, but at the same time wants to follow his own dreams in the science field.

Since the short film will be a coming of age story, one of the conventions that it will have to follow is that the chain character has to be a teenager approaching adulthood. This age would also need to bring forth a challenge that he had never had to face in his childhood life before. Although love is a popular theme in this sub-genre, I don't want to go on the course of pregnancy or love triangles. Instead, I'd like to focus on friendship or even self-discovery at the expense of

the displeasure of others. In order to do any of that, I would have to follow another convention of showing the home-life of the main character. A film that I have that did a great job at this is Super 8. Within the first few minutes, the audience learns the main character's struggles at home which includes an overbearing father figure. That father figure in itself is another genre convention. Another convention I'd could follow is adventure. There needs to be some sort of adventure the main character goes on with his friends like in the movie Stand By Me. 

Like Stand By Me, the acting would have to feel natural because the relationship between the main character and his friends needs to be believable. The character doesn't have to be a full on jock or a nerd. He could be a normal person in a normal world. Yes that doesn't sound compelling, but I do not want the film to be full of cliches. 

I imagine the cinematography to also feel natural. I believe that lengthy camera movements when the character deliver lines would probably be the rest. However, at our level it is difficult to find actors with the ability to deliver long lines in one take. Considering cinematography, the movie would take place in a small town so the shots would need to feel as if the characters are cramped in world they cannot escape. The lighting would have to be minimal or unnoticeable. I'd like the cinematography to be like Jeff Cronenweth's work on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I appreciate it when cinematographers don't to show off too much with their different lighting styles. Cronenweth does exactly this; every shot in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo feels natural. There is no dynamic lighting and everything feels gloomy. I want the short film to also have this sense of gloom. Even Eduardo Serra from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has accomplished this same feeling of gloom, destruction, and loss. Serra manages to make the magical world of Harry Potter look and feel normal. 

Sound design wise, I want the film to be mostly silent. I do want it to have a score, but it cannot be overbearing. I'd rather have the film have more organic sound that rather bad music just like No Country for Old Men. That is movie is a lot more quiet than it seems. This quietness helps create a sense of isolationism, which is what I would like to also include in my film. 

Logline: After hearing from his teacher that he will never account to anything, an orphan boy goes on an adventure with his friends to take down his teacher.  

Oral Presentation Assessment- Psycho

This is my practice run at the IB oral commentary. For this commentary, I picked my extract in the film Psycho from the point where Norman Bates invites Marion Crane to dinner with him. If this were to go into IB, I think I would get somewhere in the 16-20 range. Although it isn't horrible, it isn't great either. Firstly, I spoke to softly and I was too far away from the mic; therefore, it seem as if I'm whispering for the entire 15 minutes. Secondly, I kept stumbling and saying "uhh" so many times that it makes it seem as if I have no idea what I'm talking about. Content wise, I feel there was a decent amount of background information on the film. I spent part of the introduction to talk about Ed Gein and his influence on the film. I talked about the director and how his previous work applied to this film in general. I also discussed the the genre and as to why Psycho was so revolutionary at the time by comparing it to older films and a film that came after, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. At the end, there was an explanation on why I chose this exact extract. I spent quite a time talking about the actors and how their performances enhanced the scene. Although the film's interpretation was not at the level I had hoped for, it is still detailed and works well enough. One of the mistakes that I made is that I go too much into the summary. If I had talked loud and fast enough, then maybe it would not have seen this way. Although this was not a good experience, I believe I have learned what I need to do to better prepare myself next year.

If I were to do it again, I would actually change the extract I picked. Although at the time I thought it was a good choice, it really did not provide the content that would have made my oral presentation better. The extract in itself was a fairly weak representation of the film now that I think about it. It isn't a bad representation, but it just isn't as well as many of the other scenes in the film.

After finishing I thought I had gone over the time limit, but I discovered a whole minute of  me just mumbling to myself. I think I may have hit pause instead of stop. Anyways, I was afraid I had gone over by too much, but I guess I made it on time for the HL requirements. 

Film Language and Representation Post

If a viewer was watching this scene only from the movie, it would seem that Marion is the protagonist due to the fact that the camera never leaves her to show what is happening to Norman. However, it would also seem that she lacks morals. Marion struggles to find a place to hide the money. The audience from this scene doesn't know that the money is stolen, but her struggle to find a place to hide the money suggests that either it was stolen or someone is after the money (both of them are true). Eventually, she wraps it all up in a newspaper and just leaves it on top of the desk near her bed. This suggests that this might be her first time trying to do anything of this nature. If she is a thief, she is a lousy one at that. Before wrapping up the money, she almost forgets about it and leaves to go unpack her clothes. Still, the fact that she remembers to come back and take care of the money first reminds us that it is of extreme importance. The second character in the scene, Norman, just seems like a supporting actor and nothing more in the beginning of the scene. However, as we go through the scene, it can be seen that he has some issues of his own. The most significant one being the one that concerns her mother. Norman's invitation for dinner shows his interest in Marion. He continuously stutters as he talks after coming back from his house. This could mean he feels ashamed of the way he is, a mama's boy. He doesn't want to upset his mother and this is seen through his change of his invitation for dinner from his house to his office. Although the mother is not seen, she seems to have a prominent presence just through her voice-over.

The acting by both Janet Leigh (Marion Crane) and Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates) is subtle. One actor does not distract the audience from the other. They both seem to have problems going on that they are hiding, therefore the audience is interested in what each character has to say. Janet Leigh delivers a performance where she says her lines perfectly without seeming suspicious of any doings. This perfection of line delivery is the character's desire to be perfect. She doesn't come off as a weak woman. She becomes a powerful character because of her firmness, posture, and the illusion that she has the skills to actually get away with the crime. "The chief skill of the Hitchcock heroine is to lie, inflict and then suffer untold torments without ruffling her hem" (Guardian).  Although Marion's demise is slowly approaching, this scene does well to show her ability keep her lie going. In no way does the audience think that she is the troubled one from the two. Anthony Perkins, on the other hand, stutters as he talks and it seems like he wants to show his mannerism.

In the beginning, although the two characters are physically standing very close to one another, that is not what is shown through the camera. Every time either Marion or Norman have a dialogue, the camera is awkwardly placed to only show the character talking. The entire frame is empty, leaving the character talking placed on one side while the other character is nowhere to be seen. The metaphorical separation symbolizes the Marion's desire to have no part in this man's life. Norman is the one who is inviting and Marion, who doesn't want to seem suspicious, reluctantly accepts his invitation for dinner. These two are shown on screen at the same time very rarely. When they are in the same shot together, there is also always an object symbolizing the mother's presence and her desire to keep Norman apart from this woman. For example, when Norman returns from his house, he and Marion are in the same shot together. However, there is the food tray with a giant kettle that Norman is carrying in front of him. He even takes time to look at it when he is unsure whether or not he should have dinner with Marion in her room. The tray is in a way, the looming shadow Norman's mother has on him. The camera remains static for the most part in this shot, except when Marion moves back to welcome Norman to her room. As she moves back, so does the camera and therefore it highlights the importance of her need to remain in her room. He want to stay in her room because she wants to keep an eye on the money, nothing else. She clearly has no interest in Norman, but Norman is oblivious to this because she presents herself as someone welcoming. Almost all the shots are medium-close ups. By doing this, Hitchcock doesn't let the audience get too attached to Marion or Norman. He gives them a good amount of screen time where one does not get more attention from the camera than the other. Any camera movement is simply a dolly or a tracking shot, which just helps the audience stay with a character. Other than that, they serve no important purpose.

The editing in this extract is realistic. Hitchcock doesn't want the audience to notice the work of his editor or his own. Instead, he opts to have his characters' struggle be the main focus. There are no quick cuts or any creative shots. Hitchcock lets the dialogue play itself out. There is, however, a series of shot-reverse shots. I feel this does not serve any purpose other than to keep the audience engaged in one dialogue/character. The shot duration is the most important factor in the pacing and the audience's engagement in the characters. As I said, Hitchcock decided to go for a realistic approach; therefore, he let the actions play themselves out. In this, the importance of great acting is crucial and the performances of Perkins and Leigh were just that. By not having the camera cut form character to character too much, Hitchcock lets the viewer decide who the most important is, especially in the scenes where both of them are on screen.

In this extract, lighting does not effect any scene except for one. When Norman returns from his home and is talking to Marion, his eyes are not visible under the light, especially when he looks down. This creates an image which makes the audience see Norman as someone distant. Because the audience cannot see his eyes, the audience can't cannot emotionally get attached to him just yet.

The music can barely be heard. When it is, it emphasis the importance of that scene. For example, there is a repeating violin orchestra music when Marion is hiding the money. Apart from that shot, the extract is fairly silent. This puts more importance on the money. Even though the money is just a McGuffin, Hitchcock is setting it up as the most important object int he film. The music does not add any more of an emotional tone to the overall film. The only emotional portion is when Marion can hear what Norman's mother is saying. Although we know Marion has done a horrible thing, we as the audience, feel the need to sympathize with her.  We actually want her to get away with a crime she has clearly done. It is not one of those cliche moments where the protagonist is proven to be a saint. In this case, the protagonist has villainous characteristics.

The sense of location in this extract does not seem to affect the characters of the story in a huge manner.    The only scene where the location actually matters is when Marion Crane and looking outside her room at the Bates' house while the mother's voice is heard. This imagery of the giant house from a low angle shot and the loud voice of the mother reflect how small Marion feels. The house, compared to Marion's position is like an overbearing figure that looms behind you. Although that may not exactly be the case for Marion, it is the case for Norman Bates. Compared to the house, he looks tiny and the low-angle helps illustrate that. The house represents his mother that is inside his own mind. She dictates how Bates reacts and behaves in the outside world.

All together, the scene does well to setup the next crucial scene that shifts the audience's attention from Marion to Norman Bates. Without this setup, the next scene would not be as powerful as it really is. In this extract, we stick with Marion who is the most relatable to the audience so far. She introduces us to the character of Norman Bates. Through her first experience, we as the audience go through the introduction with Norman Bates as well. We are introduced to the themes of isolationism (illustrated from the house and the motel's location) and innocence.


Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/21/alfred-hitchcock-women-psycho-the-birds-bidisha