IB Film Documentary - Punch and Whale Rider

Click here for film Script

GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (version 2)

Graphic Organizer - (version 1)

Advanced Editing Notes

Grapes of Wrath

The camera work in this short clip of The Grapes of Wrath includes close up on specific individuals or medium action shots where there are individuals doing specific roles. For example, in one of the shot you just see a close up of people working hard in the dirt, followed by close up of shots of eating with barely anything on their plate, children running to a food bowl, shots of trains and cars entering filled with people looking for jobs. Without words, without actual main protagonists in this clip, the story reveals the true struggles of the people living through the Dust Bowl in the Great Depression. Most of the shots take place in fields with all the sparge vegetation, emphasizing the struggle and gives emphasis on food and individuals.

Also, There is some basic editing done in the clip, all the shots correlating together to bring emphasis to the struggle of the Dust Bowl. There aren’t excessive long shots, but many of the shots are stationary. What can be said about realism is that it reflections life as it occurs, revealing the raw and true emotion of the individuals in the film. In realism the audience is not allowed to make decisions for themselves, instead they are shown what to look at. So it can be said that the close cut editing of the individuals during the Dust Bowl, reveal to the audience how horrid and miserable the times were.

The story itself is not apparent in the shot, since The Grapes of Wrath is way more but it does emphasize a specific theme of struggle during the Dust Bowl in the West. The narrative focuses on all the individuals who lived on the west coast and revealing their struggle by the expressions of their tired faces, houses being torn down, or large families crowded around small tables with little food. The story itself shown a direct focus, and the audience is able to understand what the director is trying to convey about the story.

Kill Bill

From one of the posts that I read that tried to classify Realism, Classicism, and Formalism in film he stated that despite the wide range of shots, the audience will never focus on the variation instead pay heed to the protagonist. Yes, it’s that fundamental idea of character struggle and overcoming that struggle that defines classicism and Hollywood films in general. The movie wanted to stress the action-intense fighting, and it did so with whip zooms and extreme close ups of the protagonist and her master. It also varied from close ups, to extraneous shots of her practicing and getting better, further emphasizing that idea of character development. More or less, the protagonist becomes the focus and the shot composition become less admired.

In terms of editing, there is definitely more creative shots in comparison to realism. For example, Realism focused on long shots and with Classicism the shots are quick. The shots are fast, and in most cases they demonstrate action shots or characters within the film. There is a lot of editing done in the film, different angles, more conversations between individuals, more action shots ultimately leading up to the point that the character has developed.

The quality of the narrative focuses on the rise of the character, and her specific personal perspective of the story. To actually focus on an individual is a key element of classicism. This shot  captures the main character learning to become powerful with her master, and her conflict to do so. I’d love now to post the follow-up video of where the character is now super demented and takes revenge by pulling someone’s eye out.... but I won’t. However, character development. That’s a big part of Classicism.

The Bondock Saints

An important part of Formalism is that the director chooses to manipulate space and time in order to create a mood or message completely irrelevant from the apparent story. There is more freedom in Formalism, and I obviously think of really artsy films that defy elements of both Classicism and Formalism. However it is important to recall that Formalism is sort of in the middle of the two genres. Not only does it try to convey deep meaning through the shots, but also highlight specific characters and guide the audience in a general direction. Time is manipulated as the detective glides through his interpretation of what occurred at the crime scene and reliving the scene of the crime. Instead of just focusing on the murder, it also now brings up issues of morality and the struggles of killing an individual to be accepted. The movement is very fluid, and there are not a lot of long shots.

Instead there is fast editing, quick shots being juxtaposed one another. As foretold in the shot where one gunman kills someone, and the other is in the process of helping the soon-to-be-murderer. Here the editing is also fast-paced, but the story does not follow as part of the story line. Instead it breaks tangent, and focuses on a sort of nostalgic reminiscence of events that transpired. As seen by the detective back-tracing what occurred.

I wasn't necessarily sure whether or not include this as part of formalism or classicism mainly due to the length of the specific shots. The narrative itself does focus on individuals, and pulls out a much more deeper meaning than just murdering people in cold blood; however, when I think of Formalism I suppose I do think of the Kuleshov effect. I was trying to find a clip that had this, but I guess I couldn't really find it. This may be one of my weak examples, but the point of Formalism is to go off in a direction separated from character backgrounds, or history, but instead just convey an idea based on what the audience can see. Really it means a lot more on the audience's half to interpret the films shown, and not be guided in a general direction.

Also here are my notes for the blog, I might need to look them up later so I'll just leave them here:

Location as Character - Home is Where The Heart is

      Hell once again, and welcome to Kim's first attempt at using a DSLR during a film project! In other words after 3 years of only using HFRM in my projects, Mr. Bigue caught on to my little secret and was very insistent that I use the T3i Rebel to shoot my project.

      Armed with a tripod, a camera, tired parents, and approximately 2 hours to get footage we all embarked on the 30-minute ride outside of San Bruno.

       For the location as character project I decided to film in a place that was very dear to me; much so, I went back "home". Which was the very premise and theme of this story, coming back home to the bay and showing the inner beauty and tranquility that only San Francisco can bring. I highlighted 3 locations : the tile stairs near 16th avenue, the top of turtle hill, and my dad's work. All of these places were a big part of my life since I'd always visit them when I lived in the Sunset district. Initially, the message I wanted to convey was the beauty of San Francisco. However, looking back on it now, I see that I found a sort of story to accompany the video. The project highlighted the journey to San Francisco and seeing it as a whole and then comparing it to the emotional connection that I had with the location as a child. 

SCRIPT:
NOTES: shots i want to focus on

1. Texture/Pattern/Repetition - pattern of the stairs dog looking back
2. Angle/Perspective - different angle, reverse of what the dad was climbing.
3. Visual Movement/ Action - the juxtaposition of the two bees selecting pollen from a flower, and then two lovers going up the stairs.
4. Balance/Proportion/Unity - the static shot overlooking the cactus leaves, shows the relationship between nature and how the city developed around it.
5. Line - power lines. add to a sort of melacnholic feel, and this was the transition from nature/art into the deeper city and therefore more emortional connection
6. Rule of Thirds/Selective Focus - fire hydrant
7. Depth- Foreground, Midground, Backround
8. Selective Focus - al the shots with the words and then featuring a face that exacts that emotion.
9. Space/Negative Space/ Depth - dad walking up the stairs.
10. Rhythm - the stairs going up, with the children following the path.
11. Framing/ Contrast - girl walking away in slow motion.

Commentary:

Contemporary Media Analysis

1. What does the media say about the world we live in?

I didn't want to give a  legit example,
because i'll be analyzing such things later
 on in this post. So, here is a short gif
of how the media expresses stereo-
types based on race. *tsk tsk* oh media. 

In order to understand more about the world we live in, it's important to understand what the world used to be before our generation. We need to look back on years and years of social issues, wars, and cultural changes in order to understand the main concept: that media has/ will ultimately influence a society but can never truly define society. In other words, these ideas created by the media (by the very audience who comes to accept it) is what our society sees as the status quo; nevertheless, not everyone accepts the status-quo. 
To relate this statement back to the question: we happen to live in a very complicated world that is divided on almost every issue. If we target the United States it can be said that society in the US is made of people who:

1. love exposing women to the bare minimum.
2. have this strong idea of being independent.
3. enjoy eating everything on the go.
4. believe that conflicts can be resolved with violence and explosions.
5. love to extrapolate juicy, and rather trivial, gossip by harassing and stalking celebrities.  

If you're shocked to hear all this, what more someone in another country viewing the media's portrayal of North America. If so, what of us basing others on what the media deems as their national image.

2. Do you notice any one trend that keeps resurfacing through multiple media forms?

I felt that during the presentations on media, I saw a common theme throughout some of the examples. I found it relevant to my own life as I've seen this paradigm affect many of my friends and belittle those who don't fit the ideal image. Yes my good friends, I am referring to the ever popular trend of: 

MASCULINITY. 

     The media's portrayal of masculinity stretches far back, to the fairy tale stories that we grew up hearing as a kid and to the movies that our parents watched. Masculinity in America has always been expressed in such a strong and gusto way since we live in a society that adorns macho men and ridicules anything that cannot come to par. One of my favorite films of all time is Spielberg's famous  Indiana Jones series. This entire collection of movies not only embody the hero that American audiences look up to, but it also creates this static concept of what a man should be. I'll break the media's perception of masculinity into 3 categories:
ALL MANLY MEN MUST BE AGGRESSIVE: 

    A typical stereotype drawn on by media is the idea that men are agressive creatures. This can be taken literally and in terms of psychologically. Let's first look at the literal meaning, where men embody violence and action. In the movies, we often see Ford fighting villains or being caught in perilous situations. Not shown in the clip, but there's the scene where Indiana shoots a soldier after the soldier deliberately taunts him with a sword. As comedic as the scene was, it really showed men are susceptible to going through with violence than calm and collected reasoning. The media enhances the stereotype of men being prone to acting violent, and in a rather positive way so that everyone cheers and applauds someone who is capable of defending themselves and others. However, it can also be viewed in the sense that men are very driven and will stop at nothing (as seen in the clip). Indiana obviously sees the dangers, and gets stuck in the maze of traps; yet, manages to escape with his life. The idea of a strong-able man is one that sticks close to American audiences, and obviously other nations as well. 

ALL MANLY MEN ARE INTELLIGENT AND INDEPENDENT: 

I will point out the obvious facts, because I'm pretty sure we've heard this notion of masculinity already. Men are independent individuals, like the lone wolf hunting in the dark of the night. I'll explore this poster demonstrating media's understanding of being independent. The poster has a little caption to the left, "If adventure has a name.... it must be Indiana Jones". Amazing log line, obviously accentuating the fact that ONLY Indiana Jones can be compared to the thrills and shrills of adventure. The imagery in the poster also has Indiana standing alone in an old ruin. He exhumes power and strength, since he has no entourage and is only equipped with weapons. The media portrays the idea that being a man means one can take care of his/her problems on their own.

"There is no room for weak individuals in a man's world."


ALL MANLY MEN HAVE A PHYSICAL SEX APPEAL: 

     In the one Harrison Ford's first Indiana Jones films, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, Ford takes on the role of the handsome teacher. As you can see in the clip all the girls are caught fawning over the character, as if he was the only man in the universe. In this case it's obvious that the college students aren't after his intelligent notes on Biology, but rather his good looks. Now the real question is: why does this look good? The media understands that in order for men to be liked, they must be desired or attractive to the opposite sex. In this case, it could be his fancy clothes, his height, his complexion, his glasses, his hair, and other qualities that make Ford a desirable character. In the media today, we also see it in commercials and music videos with ridiculously muscular men barely clothed. We certainly live in a time period where sexual appeal is just as important (and if not more) than character and the media will continue to exploit this "visual eye candy" until the end of time.

3. What do you see as the best and worst of what media portrays?

Not all media coverage is good, and certainly not all of it is bad. Personally, I'm really influenced by the movies and shows I see on tv. As a child, I always watched cartoons and this love for animation has developed into a deep appreciate of animated films and Japanese anime. In case you haven't realized that I enjoy animated films, which would be pretty sad considering how many times I've brought up Totoro. :( Nevermind that, I'd like to give some examples of personal attacks expressed through animated films)
Media should always relay society's best interests, but what we see is media's grasp on adolescents and how it distorts their perception of reality. 
Let's look at the Disney film Cinderella. I am in no way saying that Cinderella was a bad film, definitely not my intention. Instead it mirrors the society at the time, and how young girls riddled at the thought of being swept by a dashing prince. However Cinderella did a great job in providing kids with a positive perspective on life. The film exemplified how a person's struggles are worth it in the end, and that everyone should aim for their happily ever after.

When it comes to animated films, you can't really judge a film based on the animation/moral values. When I think of media in a bad light, I tend to think of the old Looney Toons shorts during WWII. It demonstrated America's deep hatred for the Japanese by using American-perceived stereotypes against them. The media can/will always portray an ugly and ignorant side of society.

4. Where do you see yourself contributing to the conversation?

      At the end of the day media will always be an important part of society. It surround us, engulfs us, and creates this idea of what we should strive or avoid being. I find myself agreeing with the use of media as a sort of document of the time period. Our society preaches tolerance and acceptance, meanwhile another society may preach being respectful and silence. The media should show us different ways of coming to understand one another, but it should never solely define us. The media is useful for breaking boundaries and exploring issues that we'd normally go on ignoring. This is the truth, so let's not have media define us... instead it should be used to educate us in finding ways of self-improvement.

Kim's Top 5 Films of All Time (totally not overly dramatized)

So I've been around the the "film scene" for quite a while, and although my film language has grown... my taste in movies is still pretty much the same. Although there were some new entries from this year, I found myself still enjoying the films that I used to watched as a child. Not only did they have sentimental values, but in film terms they all had qualities (ranging from sound design to genre) that I could easily enjoy for hours on end. Let's take a look!

I. The Princess Bride 
     When I was a child I watched this movie religiously, no joke I was seriously madly in love with everything about this film. The genre is of course an adventure story with an underdog who rises to greatness as well as a romantic love interest. What I enjoyed about this film the most was the choice in casting: it was honestly a diverse group. One of the villains was actually Andre The Giant (I don't know if you watch wresting but he's a pretty humongous actor) and he fit the role perfectly as the muscly side-kick who isn't that bright. His character made the audience more interested in not only the hero's story, but as well as the perspectives of all the other side characters. It's hard to achieve an appreciation for minor characters in film.

II. Mr. Bean's Holiday
     I love comedies and of all the the types of humor out there in this world of film: I love none more than the comedy than silent comedies. Now I didn't want to include Charlie Chaplin because I never grew up watching his short films; instead I watched something rather similar and it was the working of Rowan Atkinson (who you all know as Mr. Bean.)  I love this movie because for the very first 20 minutes of the film there is no dialogue coming from Bean, instead he uses his body language and clumsy personality to land himself in all sorts of trouble. This is one of my favorite protagonists because his character is so well defined by not only his actions, but in the realistic touching moments that reveal family problems and problems audiences can relate to. The best kind of movie, is one that people can relate to.

III.Indiana Jones: Raiders of The Lost Ark 
     It was about 30 some years ago when this movie came out, and Spielberg introduced this new concept of an action hero (well remixed the idea). This hero wore a brown hat, a large whip, and was an explorer who yearned for discovery. What I loved most about the film was all the historical significance scattered throughout the story. Take for example the scene with Indiana being assigned the task of finding the ark; there was so much research and studies done prior to the film. The director needed to understand biblical stories, conspiracies, locations, as well as be able to shoot in these remote and often hostile environments. However, thank early film innovations for set design because Indiana Jones was able to capture the theme of exploring new worlds... somewhere on a set in Hollywood.

IV. The Fifth Element
 (click here for the best musical fight scene ever)

This movie definitely brought me into the world of a science fiction. This movie is one of my all time favorites because of the amazing cast selection, the stunning cgi animation of the time, as well as hints of comic relief layered within. My favorite scene in the movie was the opera scene juxtaposed with Lilu fighting the evil space bounty hunters. The music is so well times with the fighting, and the similar choreography between the two love interests. Now, the cinematography was amazing in terms of beautiful master shots and in order to match this theme of a bright neon utopia: it needed high key lighting. Everything about this film was amazing (except the ending which was cornnnnyyy) and I highly recommend this.  

V.My Neighbor Totoro 
    What's so great about this movie is that it relates to every age  audience in the world; and as biased as it seems children love the movie as a fictional account of a friendly beast while teens and adults can come to appreciate hidden themes of family, friendship, and values. This was one of Miyazaki's breakthrough films (not including his earlier works from the 90's) as it broke the international border and revealed this hidden culture of animated films. Totoro encompasses all the hard work of a normal film, with the added bonus of animating every single frame. The music itself is amazing... it brings in Oriental themed instruments and sort of gives the film this mystical adventurous setting.