Tiger by the Tail

Brian De Palma's, "Blowout", was quite a thriller. I had no idea what was going on for the whole movie. His puppet master status was definitely confirmed as I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time. However, I had such of a little idea of what was coming next it was somewhat annoying. I grew tired of the strings with which De Palma was moving me.

It was amazing how he used multiple aspects of film to keep us guessing and make us uncomfortable. His 360 degree shots, when Travolta was looking for his film after it had been erased, added to the sense of urgency. Since the movie was about a sound technician, De Palma used sound on sound. Some times the sound was overwhelming. At the beginning of the film, I remember one segment where it seemed as if 5 or 6 sounds were playing at once. I thought it was a bit much but it may have added to the theme of sound.

It seems like every movie after 1960 has a theme about the corruption of the United States government. Avatar, Edge of Darkness,(two new movies I have recently seen)and Blowout all have themes that point to the negative side of the United States leaders. I am pretty tired of it. It may not be a fair response to De Palma's movie, especially in my circumstances, but I just would like to watch one movie that had something good to say about the good ole U.S. of A. De Palma depicted our American leaders as liars, cheaters, and womanizers. However, I found it quite interesting that McRyan's lady friend situation was a set up. He was set up for failure. It is amazing how much we expect out of our leaders while we put them on huge pedestals. I don't completely understand why we are shocked when they fall off. Tiger Woods is a great example of such a thing. Tiger Woods is a regular guy just like every other man in America. He is just a regular guy with millions of dollars and little quality time with his wife. He made a mistake. He made multiple mistakes. But we put him up on a unrealistic pedestal like our government leaders and he fell off. Sometimes I feel as if we need to wake up and realize that all our super human leaders aren't so superhuman. If we didn't worship them, maybe these world leaders wouldn't feel like they have such a license to do as they please.

Wow, that was a crazy tangent. But anyway, DePalma's movie was little like the movies we have seen thus far. It was filled with pointless nudity, foul language, and some weak acting (main female actress). Instead of pure entertainment like Singin in the Rain, DePalma's film was less about entertainment and more about real life. Movies from the 50's to 80's seem to have changed from escaping from the days worries to more deeply examining them. Movies have gone from technicolor happiness to multi million dollar disappointments. I enjoy a good thriller. But I don't mind not hearing the F word repetitively and people being fully clothed.

Now that you've examined cinematography, editing, and screenwriting; have begun to look at film with an eye to its structure and elements; and have done an initial division of labor with your teammates -- where do you think your short film project is headed? First, explain the short film project for readers not familiar with our syllabus. Then talk about what ideas or directions, whether nascent or more fully development, have emerged from your group discussions so far. Finally, give us your own personal vision for what might be possible in your short film, with the personnel and resources in your group. What's your ambition, and what would it take to realize it?

In our once a week film class we have a film assignment of creating a short film. Our class has been cut up into groups of four or five and assigned different film genres. Our group is a group of four and we have been assigned an action film. Our films have to include a clown/mime, a skull, a guitar, and the line "Why is this happening to me on today of all days". We will be renting time slots to use one of two class cameras and editing our movie in the ethnography room offered by our class.

I think our short film is headed in the right direction. After all the workshops we have attended, I believe that we will be able to put together a quality short film. It would be very difficult to put together a film as good as spider but it is not a stretch, based on our training, for us to get close to it. In our action film, we have decided very few things so far but one thing is for sure we are having a chase scene. We spent a majority of class time brainstorming plots. We have several directions we are thinking about going. We definitely want to include some plot twists and have some epic music. I believe (and we have learned) that music can make or break the movie. I hope we can do well with applying music to our action film.

My vision for our short film is one of a somewhat stereotypical action star. Many groups will go for things outside of the box. That is going to be neat but I would like to do something that people can recognize. I would like to have a good strong action figure. However, I do not want it to be like Rambo. I would it like to be more in the same area of the transporter. Imran (our director) had a few ideas that fell along that line and I really took to them. I think that it would be interesting to make a film along those lines. In our chase scene, I would like to see some overhead (aerial) shots. I know that will be up to our cameraman (as I am editor) but I would like to see that in our film. I do not really see a love story side to our film. I think it would only distract because of the film duration. Possibilities are endless for us. We will only be limited by our technology. I hope that we can find some extra actors. It would be difficult to make a movie only using the people in our group. My ambition is to make an action film that will keep people on the edge of their seats and comes to an end with the good defeating evil. Although it may be all to common, there is a reason most movies end with the good guy winning. I like that.

The one thing that it will take for us to achieve our goals is time. One word, simple, it is time.

French Foriegn Relations

"Singin' in the Rain" is one of my all time favorite musicals. Probably because it is one of the few I have ever watched. I grew up on sports and action films. Nothing was better than watching Jean Claude Van Damm beat the tar out of people in "Blood Sport" or Stallone beating up Drago in "Rocky IV". But out of all those nights of action films with my father and brothers, I never quite enjoyed a movie night as much as when I watched "Singing in the Rain" with my mom. Granted I do love Rocky and Bloodsport more, as they appeal more to my nature, there is something special about the light hearted humor of moviesfrom this era. The way in which the actors play to us like we are in the audience really changes the vibe the viewers recieve. Instead of feeling like you're watching everything go down from a distance. Movies like "Singin' in the Rain" make you feel like you are sitting at a first row table.

Getting home from a tough day at work, nothing puts a person in a better mood than just being entertained. "Singin' in the Rain" does just that. It is pure entertainment. From tap dancing to singing, the movie is mello and full of neat things to watch. It is such a foriegn thing from film today. It is so refreshing to not have to be on the edge of my seat, or making sure I catch every word. It is a comfort to not have to put up with gross sex scenes and lots of obscenities. Those things are of course part of our lives as american's. People have sex and people cuss. But it is nice to take a break from all that and venture off to a place that is not like the reality of the world we live in. One of the major themes in the film is that movies are better than real life. The acting by Gene Kelly is a little over the top. However, this is what makes the film what it is. "Singin' in the Rain" is an escape from the day to day. The movies are better than real life theme runs through the whole movie based on costumes and the actors. Technicolor also adds to this theme by giving it a "Alice in Wonderland" look. The movie is not realistic. That is what is so special about it.

The great thing about movies from the fifties time period is that they seem to be light hearted. They are definitly not the film noir scary type. The change from "Sunset Boulevard" to "Singin' in the Rain" is a drastic one. I bet the French were happy to see a few movies that weren't in black and white. Foriegn relations with them must have improved.

Spooning and Will Ferrel

Thinking about the techniques presented in the two workshops so far, as well as those observed in Sunset Boulevard, describe any structures, effects, or methods you believe you might be able to pull off in your short film project later this semester. Why do you think the techniques you mention are within your reach? For what purpose would you utilize them? Can you link to any other examples of these techniques that inspire you?

One technique I think we can use for our short films is talking transitions. We watched, as the couple talked in Citizen Kane, the elaborate use of this technique. Even though time was passing as consecutive shots changed, the conversation continuing into transition maintained continuity. Instead of getting lost and confused, the viewer knows exactly what is going on because of the voice transitions. I hope we can use these to maintain continuity throughout our film if it spans any amount of time.

Another technique I think we can use is lighting effects. Although I am unsure of our genre, I think we can definitely use lighting to our advantage. Using different colors of light, such a red or blue or a yellow light (like we saw in Godfather), can totally change the mood of a scene or even a whole film. These light features along with back lighting and shadows can help us draw attention to certain people or certain objects. I hope we can use this in our film to portray emotion and also highlight areas of the cameras view to enhance our viewers experience. I don't really have a link to this example but the scene in "Step Brothers" where the father is lecturing and sees Will Ferrel's mother there is a great use of lighting to make the mother stand out.

Using different camera angles can affect the comfort of the viewers. In conversational scenes the 180 and 30 degree rules are used. Disobedience can cause unrest and discomfort for the viewers. This is very effective for times in movies where things are going bad or intense conversation is coming from a villain. When an intense scene happens in our movie, I hope that we can break a few rules and cause some discomfort for our viewers. After all, just causing an audience to have a feeling I want them to have is awesome.

The last technique I would like to see used in our short film is the use of sound effects. I loved the film about sound technicians. They have the coolest job and I hope I get to do the same in our film. They do such awesome things with everyday objects. I look forward to the possibility of using a frying pan to make the sound of an explosion or a couple spoons to make wind chimes. Of course, a great example of sound effects is found in the Lord of the Rings movie as we watched.