MY FAVOURITE SCENE =]

As part of my research, I made it my personal aim to watch as many movies as possible. As well as learning a lot I enjoyed this part of my research the most! Yesterday i watched Robert Luketic's 21 (2008). This is a Drama about a group of students who join their advanced maths teacher to learn the secret art of Card Counting to win huge sums of money.
This scene was taken from Ben's (Jim Sturgess') first Casino experience. I think the way this scene is constructed is incredible. It uses montages, a combination of slow and fast motion, and a range of camera distances to create the perfect effect. Dazzling!
I have analyssed the clip in more detail. Take a look!




The camera starts off as a crane angle at a very long distance. This works as an establishing shot. Then, the camera stays at a crane angle and does a spiral movement, ending up as a medium close up above the table. Straight away this gets the audience's attention and builds up the excitement.
Then there is a close up of the Black Jack cards and the gambling chips, which could work as a second establishing shot, placing us firmly into the scene.
After this, the camera tilts so we can see Ben's face and the intensity and concentration. It is then also visible, that the rest of the casino is moving in fast motion, while Ben is still moving in real time. I think this is a reflection of how he is feeling. The rest of the Casino becomes a blur. Now, it is just him and the table and nothing else matters.
As this is all happening, the camera moves to a long shot of the casino, to give a wider picture of Ben's surroundings. The camera then pans around the table making the whole scene much more interesting to look at.
The scene then jumps in to a montage of compressed time. This is brilliantly done. This images move as; The chips piling up, the Casino (Planet Hollywood), Ben's face, his mentor's face, back to Ben, chips piling up even more, another Vegas Casino, the intensity in Ben's eyes and finally the chips again.
This whole montage adds a sense of pace to the scene and makes it seem so much more thrilling. The whole way through the montage the camera is panning around each image. This adds dimension and makes this scene even more incredible to watch!
Finally the scene ends in a genius way. The master shot is re-visited, but this time the camera spirals outwards into the very long crane shot: Yet another establishing shot to finish off, just before a pan of the 'bigger picture' showing the city of Vegas at night.
I loved this entire clip. It was amazing to watch and cleverly put together!

SOUND
I realised after watching this clip twice, that the sound is also very important to adding ambience and thrill to the scene. I love the combination of diegetic and non-degetic sound.
The Diegetic sound only comes in from time to time: For example at the very beginning, or when cards are being dealt, and especially as the chips pile up.
The Non-Diegetic sound here, is in the form of music. I think this is an example of contrapuntal sound. You wouldn't usually expect this sort of relaxing music to be combined with the hustle and bustle of a Casino.
However, i think the music is an effective way of portraying Ben's emotions. He is releieved and happy to have finally found his release from the captivity of academic stress.

Overall I think this scene is definitely a success and, to me, very inspiring also. Great!

Plots and Casting

To help with our research, my media class and I, constructed plots and attempted to cast an A list actor or actress in each. Here are two of the plots, along with the chosen actors and reasons for my choices.
PLOT 2 - The Rectifier
Basic summary: This plot is a sci-fi about a man suffering from complete amnesia. He is trying desperately to find out who he is. It is eventually revealed that he is in fact a 'future version' of a current government official who has been sent back two decades in time to help maintain the existence of the human race. The movie is a about his struggle to find the answers and prevent the destruction of mankind.
Who i cast and why:

For this plot i chose Bruce Willis. The main basis for my decision was his list of previous work. Bruce Willis has done a number of action films, like the Die Hard Sequel (1988-2007), Armageddon , Sin City and Pulp Fiction. He is also known for his tendency to play 'good guy' roles, for instance in Die Hard, Armageddon and The Sixth Sense, so i felt like this character would be in keeping with his usual roles and be recognised by the audience.
He is also strong, good-looking and has a rugged face, which makes it more plausible to see him as some one who is effectively saving the world.
His star quality and popularity as an actor would aid the construction of an impressive narrative image for the film.

PLOT 9 - Murder in Manhattan
Basic summary:
This plot is a thriller about a homicide detective unit. The head of a the team, Hannah Paterson, is working on a serial killer case who meets all his female victims on the ferry in from Manhattan. She is helped by her colleague Doug , who worries when he feels that the case is taking over her life.
But, everything goes hideously wrong when it is revealed that the murderer is actually her most recent partner. Fortunately, its Doug to the rescue...
Who I cast and Why:
Here, i decided to cast Angelina Jolie as Hannah Paterson and Tom Hanks as Doug. My reasons for doing this, were again based on previous work from both stars. Angelina Jolie has done past 'police-type' work in both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005). She would probably be successful as this character. I also felt that Hannah Paterson should be played by someone who is fierce and powerful, as well as attractive and feminine. I thought Angelina Jolie matched this perfectly.
Tom Hanks was chosen for this role as he has had a string of successful films in which he was a protagonist. For example, Forrest Gump (1994), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and The Green Mile (1999). Therefore, i thought Tom Hanks would embody this character well.
As a duo, Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie would work well together, being two talented actors, and prove very popular amongst audiences.

PROBLEMS WE FACED WHEN CASTING:
The biggest issues we encountered lied within the physcial appearence of actors and trying to match them into certain plots. For example, plot 3 required an Asian male. However, there was no asian man on the cast list, and therefore the plot had to be altered. This was also the case with Plot 1. I found that I had to change a character to a male, as we had run out of female actors. A further actor which may effect plots, is the age of an actor.

Continuity Tips 'n' Tricks

As our final coursework piece is to make the first two minutes a film's opening, i decided to do some research that will be useful and is vital for any film maker. I love these tips from Videomaker! See if you can spot the errors:

FOLEY TRACK

While researching the importance of Foley Artists in film making, i found these two videos and thought they were very interesting and useful. So, here they are!
The first video explains the importance of the Foley Track and gives us examples
SUMMARY OF VIDEO 1

-FOLEY : putting sound in sync to pictures IN REAL TIME
- This includes: feet, hands, cloth, hard effects of human touch.
- Movements are re-recorded and replaced.
- A lot of the time, the Foley Track is there to help dialogue.
- There is a trial and error aspect to working out sounds.
-This is followed by more advanced sound editing and mixing of the created sounds.

The second video, which i loved, is about the Foley Track used in Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005.)
This video is so interesting because it shows how each sound is made in relation to the movie. Take a look!

SUMMARY VIDEO 2
- The term 'Foley' came after Jack Foley, who started the whole process.
-EVERY sound is done individually.
-When doing footsteps,a character's mannerisms and weight changes need to be considered.

ICONOGRAPHY!!

This week, i have been looking at INCONOGRAPHY and its uses within the film industry. Iconography is using visual signs which are universally recognised, to establish a context or genre.
So, as part of my resarch, I collected some examples, and thought it would be fun if you guessed what each icon represents :) good luck!

BLK feedback

Bisma! Where is the link to my blog?? Please add this now!!

Continuity Editing - The Italian Job

The clip i have chosen for this task is taken from the 2003 remake of the Italian Job (directed by F.Gary Gray). I thought this film was INCREDIBLE. This is one of my favourite scenes. It is a boat chase, and so, there are several continuity editing techniques used, especially matched cuts and match on action. Here's what i found!
At the start of the clip, a man is looking down from a balcony watching the boat speed away. We first see the boat from the man's point of view - this is an eyeline match. Then the camera moves to a medium-long shot, creating thrill and intensity.
This is followed by a shot-reverse-shot as a second boat leaves to chase the first. The audience see a shot of somebody climbing into the second boat, sandwiched between two shots of the first man. This is how the shot-reverse-shot works, making the audience feel more involved with the action.
After this, the camera goes from a close up of the first boat (containing Jason Stantham and Sean William Scott) to a crane shot. This is an example of match on action. Even though, the shot has changed, the scene still appears to flow and looks uninterrupted. The evidence of this is that during the close up, the boat has turned a corner. Then as the camera moves to the crane, it still looks like it has just made that turn.
From here onwards, this clip demonstrates cross cutting. This is typical for a chase scene and involves putting shots from different parts of the narrative together. This tells the audience that shown events are happening simultaneously. This clip demonstrates this where the shots alternate from the different parties in the chase.
At 0.31 seconds elapsed, there is a wipe, replacing one image with another. This shows that time has moved on.
Immediately after, there are two great examples of match on action shots. The camera starts off at a high angle, very long shot as the boat is just about to go under a bridge. Then, as the camera changes to a medium long shot of the side of the boat, it has just passed the bridge. The perfection in matching the action helps the images to flow. This happens twice consecutively at this point.
More examples of cross-cutting follow, as the shot changes to a police-boat entering the chase. Even though the shot is quickly changing to different parts of teh narrative, the audience can still tell that the action is happening at the same time.
There is also an insert shot, in between a close up a Jason Stantham, the camera switches to a big close up of hi9s hands on the steering wheel, showing the audience his desperation as well as his skill.
Then at 1.28 there is another technique to show the passing of time. It is almost a dissolve of two images. This is often used in continuity editing. It tells the audience that time has moved forward.
In total, there are three different transitions.
All the continuity editing techniques used in this clip are typical to a chase scene, but are all vital to help the scene to flow.