Hugo
Flashback with Hugo and Father
-light flickers are like that of a film reel
-Clockwork is still present spanning the concept of time.
-Brighter in the past then in the present of the film.
-Smoke doesn't appear with father
Secret Chest Opens
-The inanimate becomes animate,
-the move in a circular pattern, like clocks
-Appears as a form of magic, since they represent magical ideas
Dream Sequence
-Nothing to differentiate the real from the dream on first glance.
-This gives it a realistic feeling and suggests foreshadowing
-Contrast of day and Night
Random Notes
-the Use of smoke is prevalent, but never fully addressed besides the fact that it is a train station.
-Earth tones are present even though it has a metallic surrounding. represents rust.
-Cabret=Cabaret??? Like a show
-Station master has mechanical leg tying him forever to the machinery of the station
A Single Man
Cinephilic Moment
-There was a moment in the film that still catches my attention, between the characters of George and Kenny. This moment occured more towards the beginning of the film proper. On campus when Kenny first speaks to George in person, as they discuss fear, he says something along the lines of "You don't tell us everything you know". At this moment in the film not only are we given privy to the intimate conversation these two are, but also the surrounding interactions. As I watched their faces, mouths, eyes, and sounds, I realized that that statement spans universally throughout the world, yt I wil keep it just to cinema. They are both dressed to perfection as we see them, the buildings holding a modern feel even though this a period past, yet we are only privileged to see things that George sees, and even he does not tell us, the audience, everything their is to know about the situation he is. We are left to grasp at emotions and little things, without being told directly.
Melancholia
Opening
-music and artistic images pull on the heart of the audience.
-Plot reveled, giving greater emphasis on characters than narrative.
-When Leo is cutting wood, it is almost as if he is also playing an instrument in the non-diegetic music
-Motif of music calls back to this tragic opening sequence whenever it is heard throughout the movie
Other Notes
-rapid and almost forceful editing, yet does not speed up the pace of the film as it would appear. Almost as if it slows it down even more so.
-Wedding: This in particular is a bringing together (almost forcefully it seems) of two people as both Earth and Melancholia will be brought together.
-Headband of Justine resembles a constellation of stars
-Distance plays a major role between the characters both physically and emotionally, as well as figuratively and literally.
Justine and Claire
-Justine fears life on Earth, where Claire fears the death and end of herself and it.
-Once the end of the world is near, Justine seems more functional than Clair, who all but goes insane.
-Justine represents acceptance (depression), while Claire represents non-acceptance even in the end (melancholia)\
-The idea of Melancholia only introduced (formally) in Claire's part furthering their connection
-known vs. unknown
-"The Earth is evil. No one will miss it."
The Hurt Locker
Thompson's death
-Death scene of slow motion mixed with real time events.
-Shots of the ground and gravel reactions to shock in slow motion.
-Shows the Shockwave, but no gore
-Sounds are scattered and slightly muffled
-Mix of shaky and still camera ovement
-Visuals are almost beautiful
-In slow motion shots, everything is shown objects being moved upward and then forced back to the ground
-Land is barren as well
Car Drives Through Army Barricade
-Fast paced editing
-Shaky movement of camera during the action.
-Stillness at "stalemate" moment between James and Driver
-Sudden burst of movements to complete stillness in both action and camera
-war as Chaotic and controlled, when gun pulled out.
"Beckham's" Body is Found
-Silence deafens the scene
-Very still Camera work
-Soldiers are also still
-No action shown to cause this death, yet even the dead body holds some danger (bomb).
-Not sudden, but slowly lead up to
-Death of the innocent
-Only gory body and we are forced to look upon it.
Viaggo in Italia
Denotation
-The shot is a short one but it begins after a cut from Katherine's face onto the skulls and bone that are stacked in the catacombs of Naples.
-The light comes from candles that have been lit for the long dead.
-The long dead surround Katherine frightening her about how short life truly is, making her literally face her own mortality.
Connotation
-The lighting is dim and almost appears to flicker menacingly across the surface of the skulls, casting harsh contrasts between the lit portions and shadow portions of the various skulls.
-The music plays an eerie tune to cast a morbid feeling unto the listener even if one were to turn away.
-The skulls are placed so densely packed together that they almost look endless in number and are placed to look as though they are staring at a diagonal towards Katherine.
-Cultural codes that are being played on during this shot, is that death is uncomfortable to look at for American society, where in Italy the people appears to have some sort comfort or pity for the dead.
-Another cultural aspect is that the dead should be buried, inhumation. This seems simple, but the burial of the dead is a very social issue.
-Lastly, the culture that is also being called upon is that we normally turn away from death.
Myth Production
-This shot contributes to the myth that "Life is Short" and "Death is Not desireable". Yes the fact is that our lives are short, but the shot attempts to make one face mortality, specifically Katherine, to make her realize that life is too short to be mad at Alex. She should forgive him regardless of his transgressions and how horrible a married couple they are because she loves him.
Psycho
Opening Scene
-We enter the room slowly through a small space in the open window as well as the covering where the inside is dark.
-Suggests vouyerism.
-Casts shadows and darkness
-not allowed to look out but can't look in either.
Marion Changing Clothes
-She is only woman that is seen with little to no clothes
-Goes from light clothing suggesting purity to darker clothing which is when theft is decided. Also more provocative.
symmetrical Room that continues throughout most rooms.
Traveling
-Voice's being played as watching face
>is it in her head or really happening
>voices only heard when facing her
-motif in music
-blinding light and rain
Norman and Marion Talking in Front of Cabin
-only reflection of Norman projected on window
-foreshadowing of second nature
-no one else's image has done so yet.
In Office
-shadows splayed over walls stretching over everything
-Shadow replicates Norman but not Marion
-Medium close-ups make study appear smaller and more confined
-Owl stairs at viewer when view changes on Norman
-Office is asymmetrical unlike all other rooms
Other Notes
-Duality of Everything
>two sisters
>Two men interested in Marion
>Objects in twos symmetrical
The Grapes of Wrath
Casey and Tom Joad First Meet
-Despite having just gotten out of the penitentiary, Tom looks clean cut and well dressed. This is juxtaposed with Casey's ragged appearance with clothes slightly bigger him and face less shaven.
-The set is dry and barren with dead leaves hanging from the trees suggesting that life has left the land while Tom has been gone.
Joads get kicked off their land
-Shadows appear overly dark and dramatic to portray the connection to the land that the father feels.
-The overlap of the tractor tracks and the shadows suggests not only a destroying of the house but of the family as well.
Grandpa Joad dies
-The actor playing Grandpa grabs the dirt from the ground to sprinkle upon himself which is highly reminiscent of the previous scene when he said that "This is my dirt"
At Arizona checkpoint
-The frame which captures the Joad family makes it seem as if they are caged within that car and being herded like livestock, as the sign for the checkpoint suggested.
-Also appears as the jailer, the cop, speaking to the prisoner, Tom Joad.
Other Notes
-The cars within the film are important. The displaced farmers all drive in boxed in vehicles where it is closed to the outside world minus a few windows, a moving prison. The upper class people taking the land and such all are presented with the tops of their cars down making them more open and free.
Midnight in Paris
Opening/Establishing Sequence
-This opening scene gives the viewer different depictions of the city of Paris
-The length of this scene is slightly extreme calling the audience to view everything within the still shot. In this way the significance of the the opening sequence is forced upon the audience.
-This also allows the viewer to see things that they normally wouldn't.
-The cliche of Paris as the city.
Gil Goes to the Past (First Time)
-The illusion of going to the past is represented in the night when change is more easily accepted then during the day time.
-This first time, both Gil and the Audience are transported through time but at the same time the obvious nature of the famous authors calls attention to its falsehood.
Masculin, Feminin
Opening Scene
-Even before the audience could see characters or image of scenery, the audio screams at the audience, jarring the viewer with an initial shock.
-When the viewer does get to see something of the narrative, there is no establishing shot to give any indication of setting. Instead the viewer does not know where we are or supposed to be minus the fact that the character is speaking French.
-The immediacy and closeness of the primary shot disrupts the viewer, bringing a sense of obstruction, awkwardness, or even dread. This only escalates when this scene is repeated before the audience is told that Paul has passed away.
Madeline and Paul Bathroom/kitchen
-Another unconventional motif within this film is excessively used in this scene. Most of the time the spoken words and visual person are from two completely different people.
-While Paul is dominating conversation, Madeline is shown in a close-up while grooming herself. And this same thing happens in vice versa.
-This represents some sort of contrasts between the two characters, with the smiling face and grooming of Madeline. In contrast the face of Paul shows little to know emotion while smoking his cigarette.
Laundromat Scene
-The cuts between the frames in this scene are jerky and rapid, causing Paul to jump from one place to another. This technique keeps drawing attention upon the fact that it was a film.
-However, Paul's anecdote and audio remain uninterrupted and fluid.
Other Notes
-Many of the actions within the film occurs outside the frame, giving a sense of a larger world that went past the frame, which also did not allow the viewer to have privilege to much of the world within the film.
-The shots occur mostly within the interiors of buildings with little to no establishment of finite setting.
-Many times irrelevant people sit in on the frame close to the main characters' interaction.
-The conversations, particularly between two of the main characters at any given time, never follows a linear pattern. Instead they are circular and random, jumping from personal topics to politics to popular culture and so on.
