Mise en Scene

Two of the actors in the film The Godfather (1972), that I would classify as stars would be Robert Duvall and Al Pacino. According to Goodykoontz and Jacobs (2011), “A star is a distinctive screen persona, who is well–known and popular with the movie going public. Stars are actors who are simply famous on–screen and off” (section 3.4, para 4). However, the text classifies actors as character actors if it is difficult to classify them as one type (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). These actors can play a wide variety of characters and are believable in these roles.

Talia Shire, is an actress in the film The Godfather (1972), I would classify her as a personality actor. Personality actors play something of themselves.

Robert Duvall has played and starred in many movies, in The Godfather (1972), he plays a Mafia’s Godfather’s adopted (somewhat) son who is the family attorney. He was very convincing as he is in my opinion of most of his roles. He has played an FBI negotiator in John Q (2002), a pompous father in Something to Talk About (1995) and a Marine Corp Officer in The Great Santini (1979). Based on these roles, Robert Duvall falls into the character actor category.

Al Pacino is wonderful as Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972). He is Robert Duvall’s bother in the film and he is the son that takes over the family business. Al Pacino played the lead in Scarface (1983), his character was a Cuban thug that rises to power in Miami. He also played a blind retired Army Colonel in Scent of a Woman (1992). He has played a CIA instructor in the movie The Recruit (2003), in every one of these movies he played a believable character.

Talia Shire has been in many movies; however, her characters in Rocky (1976), The Godfather (1972), and the Godfather II (1974) in my opinion are what define her as a personality actor. She plays an Italian wife, mother, daughter in some form in all of these movies.
Talia Shire, I think will always be seen as Michael Corleone’s baby sister (The Godfather, 1972), or as Rocky’s wife (Rocky 1976).

According to the web site http://www.imdb.com “Her two most famous characters, Connie Corleone and Adrian Balboa, changed drastically during their respective franchises (“The Godfather” and “Rocky”). In “The Godfather” saga, her character Connie went from being an innocent, dutiful wife who suffered from abuse to being a strong willed, powerful woman who took an active part in the family business and championed nephew Vincent to become Don. In the “Rocky” franchise, her character Adrian went from being a shy, timid, quiet girl to being a strong woman who often gave her husband the support and extra strength he needed to go the distance and overcome his opponents.” I think that based on the characters she has played, that she can be categorized as a personality actor.

References

Avildsen,J.(1976). Rocky. Rocky and Adrian’s first date. . retrieved from:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK4lxjvrhHs

Cassavetes,N. (2002). John Q. Terrorist or Hero. retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTdYbXrkoGY

Copolla, F. (1972). The Godfather. Paramount pictures movie clip.[Video file] retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdQi6Ebjm8c

Coppola,F.(1972). The Godfather movie clip 2/9. It’s Strictly Business retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qvpcfYFHcw

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001735/bio

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-santini-1980

http://movies.yahoo.com/personal/al-pacino

Raptors in the Kitchen

Describe each of the three basic categories of sound (dialogue, sound effects, and music)

Dialogue and Narration in film: This includes the emotionality of the spoken sounds, the subtext of the words, the connotation and denotation of words, the literal meaning and implied meaning of speeches, and rhetorical devices like symbolism and verbal irony; the Ocean’s films are great for verbal irony as is The Cutting Edge (1992, Glaser).

Music in film: This includes the qualities of the music, like major or minor key, tempo, orchestration (wood winds, string, or brass, etc) and lyrics. Lyrics can enhance narration or dialogue; this is a point made in Music and Lyrics (2007, Lawrence).

Sound Effects in film: These are the added sounds that illustrate or complement the action of the film, Equally, sound effects might carry symbolic meaning. like a knock on a door symbolically representing opportunity knocking, like in Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (1999, Patterson).

Sound in film affects mood in a variety of ways. Sound effects and music may increase the mood of tension or suspense, like in Jaws (1975, Spielberg) or Sleepless in Seattle (1993, Ephron). Music is often used in romances to heighten the perception of affection and intimacy, like Message in a Bottle (1999, Mandoki). Dialogue of course, creates mood through tone and emotionality as well as through content, like in Holiday (2006, Meyers). In addition, voice-overs might add a mood of mystery or contemplation as in Shall We Dance (2004, Cheslom).

In summary, sound can affect mood in film in any way a director wishes it to: there are no limits to how mood and sound interact. Even silence, the absence of sound, heightens the established mood of a scene or film, as in Moneyball (2011, Miller).

Explain how the different categories of sound are being used in your chosen film.

The only dialogue is in the beginning of the scene, but when the action starts its all ambient sounds, sound effects, and the composed background music.  A few sound effects meant to be heard loud and clear are: clicking of the raptors claws to show their nearness, crashing of the pots to elicit frenzy and picking up of pace, the clang of the ladle that makes the audience fell fear for the boy, the Tim’s shoes squeaking as he tries to run away raise anxiety, and the slamming of the door and the key in the lock finally evoke the relief that we as an audience need to feel safe again along with the characters.  The characters make distinctly different sounds from the raptors; such as breathing heavily, gasping, and screaming.  The music grows loud and fast whenever they flee from the raptors.   Once escape is accomplished, it suddenly diminishes to almost nothing if there is another looming danger.

How does the use of sound inform the mood of the scene, or the film overall?

Sound is a critical element of film production. It can complement an image, contribute to character development or be used to indicate mood, time or action. The Raptor screeching and smelling his prey. The clicking of the claws on the floor. Pots falling to the ground or the clang of ladle. Sounds, such as these are used throughout this scene to set a very suspenseful mood giving this particular scene a dark feeling or feeling  horror for the kids and making the audience wonder if the kids make it out alive.

Can you identify specific sounds in your film that allow you to infer a particular genre?

Clicking of the raptors claws to show their nearness, crashing of the pots to elicit frenzy and picking up of pace, the clang of the ladle that makes the audience fell fear for the boy, the Tim’s shoes squeaking as he tries to run away raise anxiety, and the slamming of the door and the key in the lock finally evoke the relief that we as an audience need to feel safe again along with the characters. These sounds used through the scene helped me identify this film as an Action-suspense film. Through the entirety of this film, the character are made to flee for their life by escaping these prehistoric beast that have size and speed on them.

Since each category of sound may produce a range of effects, how might you characterize the effects in your film? For example, realistic and expected sound effects may have a different effect on a viewer than exaggerated or unexpected ones.

The sounds throughout this scene were in my opinion exaggerated. The exaggeration of the sounds within this scene made it that much more eerie and/or dark.

Assess how the scene or sequence would play differently if you changed or removed a key category of sound.

imagine if the director removed the sound of the raptors claws scratching the ground or when they first entered the room and making that eerie noise before. In my opinion, these are some of the key sounds needed to make this scene that much more dark of horrifying. Better yet, imagine if this scene was done with cats. it would not have the same affect on the audience.

Resources
Jurassic Park (9/10) Movie Clip. (1993) Raptors in the Kitchen. . Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnRxQ3dcaQk

Jurassic Park/ (March 3, 2014). Cat Raptor. [Video File]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlPoPMbiffU

 

Gladiator

In Gladiator, the light technique used are the traditional three-point, high-key, and low-key lighting.  Also editing pace and costume was used to great effect throughout the film and gives the film believability, severity and gives the audience full insight into the tension of the film and sincerity for Maximus.

What are the benefits of the style of lighting used?

Throughout the film  lighting was used very well to contribute to the effect or mood of scenes within the film. An example of a clever use of lighting is the scene early in the film where Maximus is praying to a shrine he has made for the safety of his wife and child after he’s won a battle in Germania. The lighting is based around candle light and other man-made lighting to show historical believability and that this room and shrine are church like. It gives the audience emotional background to Maximus.

How did this technique contribute to the theme?

In the real world shots of the confrontation between Maximus and Commodus, natural lighting was used to show that this is the real world. It shows what we, the audience, are seeing. However, when the setting changes to a place that represents home for Maximus,  the lighting changes. Unlike in the real world where the lighting is very much natural in this new setting the lighting is eerie and an unnatural dark.

How was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film? For example, documentary films tend to rely on natural light as a way of creating an overall tone of authenticity.

The genre movie is action and adventure-drama so the lighting techniques used shows that his thought of his daughter and wife is a place that represents heaven and it gradually becomes more obvious that this heaven is the same as Maximus’s home, telling the audience that while fighting Commodus this is what he’s seeing. Earlier in the scene, Commodus poisoned Maximus so regardless of whether Maximus wins the conflict or not he’s going to die. The interchange of lighting is cleverly used by Scott as it shows the audience the hope that’s driving Maximus against Commodus. This is the weakest he’s been throughout the film and supposedly in this state, Maximus should not be able to beat Commodus. This image of heaven in Maximus’s mind and the potential reuniting with his family is giving him strength. It shows the audience he is stronger than Commodus who is fighting for personal satisfaction. The cinematographer uses this eerie, wondrous lighting and atmosphere where Maximus can go home and be reunited with his family to show how important to the audience this reuniting will be.

Compare how the scene would play if different choices had been made.

The lighting used in this heavenly atmosphere is dark, eerie and unnatural. The cinematographer recognizes that this may unnerve or even scare the audience but the wondrous aura it creates in relation to Maximus makes the audience will him on when he is in his dying breaths after finally conquering Commodes. If high-key or the three-point was used for this scene it would not have the same effect. Even though it was a happening ending when Maximus was reunited with his family it was still supposed to have a sad feeling to the scene due to those that still loved him lost him in life.

 

Movie Clip.(2010). Gladiator Official movie clip. Are you not entertained? retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1ylg4GKv8

http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/Gladiator/gallery/GLADIATORBH02/

Lone Survivor

Title: Lone Survivor

Writer: Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson

Director: Peter Berg

Year: 2013

Actors: Mark Wahlberg(as Marcus Luttrell), Ben Foster (as Matthew “Axe” Axelson), Emile Hirsch (as Danny Dietz) and Taylor Kitsch (as Lieutenant Michael P. “Murphy” Murphy)

•Summarize the plot and story

Story: Lone Survivor is a 2013 American war film based on the 2007 nonfiction book Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10. Set during the war in Afghanistan, Lone Survivor dramatizes the failed United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings, during which a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team was tasked to track Taliban leader Ahmad Shah.

Plot: Four Navy SEALs whose sensitive mission into the Afghan mountains is unexpectedly compromised, leading to a fierce skirmish with a small army of Taliban soldiers. The year is 2005. In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, the War in Afghanistan is well under way when military intelligence learns that a senior Taliban member is hiding out in a remote village deep in the Hindu Kush mountains of the Kunar Province. Convinced that his capture or killing could turn the tide of the difficult war in favor of the United States, the Navy SEALs hatch Operation Red Wings. The goal is simple — send a select team of soldiers to stake out the village from the surrounding mountains, and move on their target when the time is right. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Michael Murphy (Kitsch), Marcus Luttrell (Wahlberg), Matt Axelson (Foster), and Danny Dietz (Hirsch) reach their checkpoint, and quickly realize that another nearby hill will provide a better vantage spot. Shortly after arriving at that new location and getting a positive ID on their target, however, the soldiers are caught off guard by three wandering shepherds, including a young boy. Ultimately, a heated vote over what to do with the captured shepherds leads Lt. Murphy to decide that the best course of action is to abide by the rules of engagement, meaning that the soldiers will abort the mission, release the captives, and retreat to their extraction point. Shortly after the shepherds are set free, however, the four SEALs find themselves surrounded by dozens of Taliban soldiers, and engaged in a fierce gunfight that — with the aid of some truly brave villagers — only one of them will make it out of.

•Was the film presented chronologically or non-linearly? How did this aesthetic choice contribute to the general effect on the audience?

The events in Lone Survivor are presented in chronological order.They happen consecutively, and are in the same order in the story and the plot as the real time event took place 9 years ago. Each event that took place in the film was a result of another event that previously took place.

•How are elements like character development or foreshadowing impacted by the choice of storytelling methods?
In chronological order, character development happens through the whole story. They develop right before our eyes as we’re watching the film. Foreshadowing happens in both chronological and non-linear, by either hinting an upcoming event, or showing us history of a previous characters life.

•If the film had followed a different presentation style, how would the general effect on the audience have been different?

If the film have been presented in a different style, such as non-linearly, it would have been very confusing for the audience. The story developed throughout the movie and was portrayed as in the real time event.

Reference:

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C.P. (2011) Film: from watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint

Luttrell, M & Robinson, P. (2007). Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10. Little, Brown and Company

Lone Survivor Official Trailer #1 (2013) retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFk4JK_RM