The Player

In our last film class we watched The Player starring Tim Robbins. I really liked this film. It was really cool to me how the celeberties in the film played themselves. It made the story much more real and believable. The movie definately qualified as a film noir genre due to it's wide spread twistedness. I somehow found myself hating every character for one reason or another. First, I hated the writer for sending threatening postcards to the movie executive, then I hated the movie executive for being an ass hole to everyone, then I hated the movie executive's girlfriend for being sickly turned on by evil. However, through all of this hate, I loved the movie.

As far as the cinematography goes, there were tons of techniques that caught my attention. My favorite trait of this movie was the use of sound. There were many scenes in which the sound between many subjects were cluttered with each other. Also, many times the sound shifted from one conversation to another without changing the shot of the camera, like in the Burt Reynolds scene. The sound in the movie did an overall amazing job of making me incredibly uncomfortable, especially in the sex scene. There was an odd and very busy drum beat increasing in volume and clutter which mirrored the twistedness of the derranged lust taking place on the camera. This was one of the many parts of the film that made me giggle a bit, but only in an attempt to relieve myself of the awkward bubble it created around me. Awesome.

The shot at the beginning of the movie was just cool. Nonstop observation of the scene by the camera, even into windows and through bushes really highlighted the hustle and bustle of a studio lot. It made it seem like so much was going on, yet everyone was so caught up in their individual ventures. A few other shots that caught my attention were the murder scene in which the lighting was coated with a reddish tint to capture the evil of the movie executive, and the last shot in which he comes home and the garden is filled with beautiful flowers to juxtapose the disgustingness of the entire situation. These shots act as examples of what my group needs to be going for in our horror film.

Overall I thought the movie was simply entertaining. I have liked the movies we have watched in class more and more as they get more modern. Blow Out and The Player had interesting plots that kept me interested, unlike the oldies that seemed more like a play with a predictable plot. It seems as though twists have become more abundant and necessary to movies as time has gone on. Audiences want more and the more they get, the more unique films must get. In the future, films will have to push new limits and mutate structure to keep the flavor fresh. As I watch the new movie in theatres it feels like some kind of repeating deja vu because I have seen it all before. I think The Player was an innovation of its time, which explains its success. It really toyed with the audience in so many ways. It made fun of them by identiying the cheesiness which audiences so frequently desire, and confused them by meshing fiction with real icons and celeberties. I enjoyed it very much and hope that the movies keep getting better.

In Progress...

In our last film class we spent most of the time in our individual groups working on our film assignment. Our genre is horror, which I think is the hardest genre to make a good film of, or at least a unique film. It doesn't help that none of us really know what we're doing. Though I have learned sooo much more than I knew so far this semester about film production, application is a completely different story. To be honest I am quite intimidated by the entire process, mainly because I don't want it to end up crappy. Sadly, however, with horror as our genre, we are running against the wind.

I know, I sound pessamistic right? Well this is just the little worry monster inside of me, but not to worry, I'm used to him by now. He's been there for every test, quiz and project I've ever even slightly cared about. The only difference here is he's sulking in this situation because it's all so new to me. This is his one chance to succeed by watching me fail. However, just like all, well most of those tests and quizzes, I will find a way to overcome the overwhelming.

Though horror is intimidating, it offers my position of camera man a wide variety of unique shots to capture an emotion. I am very excited about trying to make the audienc uncomfortable with different tilts, focuses, close ups and lighting. Sound is going to come into play majorly in our film too. Everyone has been in a theatre watching a horror flick when the character on the screen is quietly and stealthly creeping around the corner when BOOM! (something happens) It's gonna be fun to synchronize the two realms of sound and cinematography.

There are so many things to think about when it comes to making this film. Costumes, setting, lighting, sound, editing and dialogue are just a few. Getting it all together is gonna be a journey, but like at the end of every journey, there is a rewarding relief awating. Even if our film is cheezy, bring or funny I will be proud of it cause I'll know I tried my hardest. (and it was my first try) In all seriousness, it's gonna just be a blast, something I'll look back on and really appreciate. I can just see it now, Erin running down the hallway screaming and when she's done me saying, lets get it one more time. Then five screaming runs later we're all laughing on the ground, but we finally got the right shot. Just the whole experience is gonna be unique and honestly probably once in a lifetime. There's not much time to hold a camera in the world of medicine, so I'm gonna give it all I got now...for the hell of it.

Blow Out

In our last class we watched Blow Out starring John Travolta. This was an early eighties film with super unique cinematography and a cool plot. It was almost a genre of its own because it had comedy, thrill and action. At the same time the ending was derranged enough to qualify as horror. I enjoyed the first half of the movie, but when the plot steered into John Lithgow's character I lost interest and found it quite cheesy. The cheesiness was capped off by an entirely too long slow motion run by Travolta to the not so much rescue of the girl. Overall, however, it was a cool movie that I learned a few things from.

The main observation that stood out to me was the distinctive difference between the movies that we've watched from the fifties and Blow Out, which was made in 1982. First, I noticed that the style of acting changed drastically in three decades. A more realistic, everyday style acting was apparent in Blow Out than in the overly-dramatic Sunset Boulevard or Singing in the Rain. In the older movies it was obvious to the audience that the actors were acting, but in more modern movies it seems that the skill in acting is in seeming believable. Second, and most obvious was the amount of sex used in the more modern age of film. In the fifties, the nudity from Blow Out would have offended audiences. Even if nudity was used in older movies, it would've had to have been used much more tastefully. It seemed like it was thrown into Blow Out for the shock or pure entertainment of it. The gist of it is that movies from the fifties seemed more like a play while more modern movies seem like an inside perspective on real life.

The main fascet from Blow Out that caught my eye was its cinematography. It was really unique and gave me a lot of ideas as the camera man for our group project. The movie began with a point of view shot and gave the audience a creepy feel. My favorite part of this shot was when the camera moved to the side a bit and showed the weird murderer guy in the mirror. I like how the movie shifted from this cheap horror film camera angle to a formal modern movie shot of Travolta in the studio. Second, I noticed that there were many extreme close ups with a depth of field in the background. A few examples include a close up of an owl's face with Travolta about 15 yards behind it and a frog with Travolta about 30 yards away. I find these focus shots really captivating because they capture two different stories at once. A camera man can completely hide the truth of something in the shot and then reveal it by changing focus and make the audience feel dumbfounded that it was there the whole time. Finally, the end of the movie was pretty cool because of the fireworks shot when he is holding the woman. It was cool because it was one of many juxtapositions in this film showing a celebration clashing with tragedy. I got a few good ideas from this film to use as a camera man so hopefully I can use them with just as high of quality.

I learn something new from every film we watch. I think that is really cool too because I have never seen watching movies as a learning experience until now. It's always been just for entertainment, but now I am more entertained by being impressed with cinematic techniques used in movies. It's like when you're watching a show and they allude to something that you've heard of. You feel a little more intriuged with the allusion because you actually understand it. This is how I feel about movies now and hopefully I can filter this interest into use with our film project.

Film Project

My film class has been a once a week experience of watching/analyzing films and studying cinematography and the process of making a film...all building up to one project, making our own film. The class has been split into six groups with each person in a group assigned the role of either director, editor, sound manager and camera operator. We were each given a genre. My group got horror and I am the camera operator. The film must be five minutes long and contain a mime or clown, a guitar, cheese grater and skull. Also, we must use the lines "Why is this happening to me today of all days?" and "It would be better for us not to talk about that." These rules apply for all groups.



I feel like if I were handed a camera and told to make a movie at the beginning of this semester I wouldn't have had a clue where to start. I'm actually shocked at how much I've learned so far. I can actually apply real cinematic techniques to our film now. I already have so many ideas flowing through my head. Since I am the camera operator and our genre is horror, my contribution to the film will be tremendous. Simply by the camera angle, I can make the audience feel uneasy or I can bring out the traits of a character. I've learned that a dutch tilt makes a shot very twisted and disturbed looking. This is when the camera lies on an angle to make the shot angled on the screen. Also, the lighting of our shots is going to be extremely important. In a horror film, we will likely utilize dark space and use light in a dreary kind of way. Proper use of lighting gives us the power of mystery and suspense. Another technique that could be utilized in our horror film is pov shots, meaning point of view. If the main character is sneaking through somewhere or revealing something mysterious, a pov shot will often be used to put the audience in the suspense.



One idea that my group has discussed for our film is to put the main character in a place of isolation, like a room that has no escape. Then introduce another character who enters the room and creates a horror-like atmosphere. We haven't punched out any details yet. We are having to ask ourselves, "What would be a creepy situation to find yourself in?" It's kind of cool to think about a story or scene and be able to actually portray it.

I have high ambitions for out project. I love scrounging things together and cultivating something out of nothing. In high school we would have dress up days and I would always invade Good Will for crazy costume stuff. I think the film will be similar. Creating a set, proper wardrobe and maybe some makeup will require a lot of raw creativity, which I think my group has. I hope to create something that we can be proud of and that I will want to show people I know and say "Yeah I helped make that."

My Techniques

We've reviewed plenty of techniques and types of cinematography thus far in my film class and the ones that appeal most to me are those having to do with camera shots. I enjoyed playing with transitions and visual effects in our project in which we had to put 20 short clips together to convey two words, but I would have much rather been the one filming the clips. A few techniques I can see my group using in our film project later in the semester are the rule of thirds, the strategic use of wide and medium shots as well as close ups and also unique camera angles that convey the mood of the scene.



I've never put my mind into the game of film making before. I always knew it was complex and artistic, I just didn't realize how fun it is. The simple use of a fade to white transition clearly conveys a flashback, cross-cutting is super fun to play with and trying to be suddel with a point I'm trying to get across as a film maker is like a fun mind game. It's cool because I have to be the creator as well as the audience at the same time. Whenever my group decides on a story, one of the first things we will have to do is decide what mood we want to come out of each scene, and then each shot. Working from big to small to very small is what makes a masterpiece.

I've been assigned to be the camera operator and the director in my group for the movie project later this semester. I'm actually most excited to be the camera man. I think it will be so interesting to connect the camera shots with the dialogue or mood of the scene. It will be fun to play with some focus effects as well. I love scenes with a unique depth of field, like the scene in Singing in the Rain when the woman with the long cloth is dancing. It's never just point and shoot. There's always a strategy behind every shot. If we're doing a scene with a simple conversation, I will watch a similar scene in a movie for a point of reference, then make mine better. If someone has to be running, I'll see how it's been done before, and make it my own.

I'm really glad I have this class to balance out my Chemistry II, Biology II and Physics II. I know, hectic right? I haven't been this excited about a class in a long time. In previous classes we've always planned to do a movie but never had time to pull it off, but I know in this class we can do it. I'm really gonna take pride in this. Come final day, people will be impressed. With the amazing editing of Cameron, the illustrous sounds by Kim and the acting/camera help of Erin, a cinematic miracle will happen! It's really gonna be so cool to watch a movie that we've made and be able to identify techniques that we've used. I feel so much wiser. :-)

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard was surprisingly interesting to me. I say surprising because when the movie first came on and I saw that it was a black and white from 1950, I expected a drab film with a boring plot line and cheesy acting, but what I got was different. Joe's snappy one liners and Norma's over the top dramatic acting was actually entertaining. I was interested in what was going to happen next.

The genre of the movie wasd film noir. I had never heard of that term before this class, but I had seen a film in this genre before. Actually, the day after we watched Sunset Boulevard I watched a modern film called Crash that had to do with racism. One of the main traits of film noir is that everyone in the story has a flaw and there are no heroes, and Crash was precisely that. One person would do something heroic for someone, then turn around and display evil in the next scene. Film noir gives the audience a very uncomfortable feeling...almost impatient. We've grown so accustomed to a resolution in stories and heroes defeating villians that there is something very unsettling yet intriuging about film noir. I love and hate Norma, find Joe charming yet cowardice and Max is just too twisted to discuss. I also thought it was really cool that the movie was done in black and white instead of color; it really added to the dreary and hazy feel of the movie.

The main motif of the movie was the separation of the two worlds. There was the inside of Norma's house and mind...beautiful, elegant and superior in quality. Then there was the outside world and the outside of Norma's house...free, but raggedy, social, but decaying. The scene where Joe goes to the New Year's party with the house full of people is a direct juxtaposition to the emptiness of Norma's house on New Year's. everyone is laughing, dancing and drunk, while Norma is content just being with Joe on a waxed dance floor in her rustic house. I was confused throughout the movie as to whether I should pity Norma, hate her or just find her annoying. This confusion is the essence of film noir.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie and especially the part of class afterwards when we analyzed it. I can tell by the time I'm out of this class I'll never leave a movie theatre in silence again.

Lord of the Rings is EPIC

It's sort of the same feeling as looking up at a huge skyscraper, or standing in the middle of a huge arena and wondering, how did people make this? Watching the sheer concentration that goes into making a movie like Lord of the Rings is awesome. The knowledge necessary to creating a prodction like that is just as unique and complex as that needed to be a doctor. I've seen each Lord of the Rings at least four or five times now and I love them. It was just such a BIG movie. Lots of compelling wide shots and large sets with artistic design. The behind the scenes piece of Lord of the Rings that we watched was so cool, especially the sound making part. It's amazing how real and captivating a moment can be portrayed out of such artificial resources. Who knew that the sound of scattering skulls could be like walnuts?



When we watch movie's like this being made, I try to catch on to the techniqes used to make the film appealing. When we watched Citizen Kane we discussed transitions and clarified so many techniques that I've never analyzed before. One was that the sound of the woman from the next scene began playing in the transition before the next scene started. I realized that I see this all of the time in movies and how smoothly it allows scenes to change. My favorite part of the piece we watched from Citizen Kane was how the table got longer between the husband and wife as several scenes went rapidly by. That along with the newspaper represented problems coming between them.

When it comes to the short film that we will make in this class I get worried. I don't know how I'm going to avoid turning in a piece of crap. It's interesting to study all of these techniques and processes that go into making film, but I don't know how I'm going to use them. I've never done any kind of edited film making before. I know I sound super worried, but I am excited that I don't know how this is going to turn out. It might be crappy, or I might wind up impressing myself, either way it's going to be something I've never done before and something tells me I'm going to have fun with it. It won't be the next Lord of the Rings, but maybe I can find a way to utilize some of the things we've discussed in this class.