• List the key Ideology and Thematic Goals- (use quotes from article)
Italian Neo-Realism was a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location. It was successful because it shows real life situation and how there is a distinguished gap between social classes. “The aim was not to record the social problems but to express them in an entirely new way.” It was a way to show others how people would deal with the emotional and physical problems presented to them, and how would they make it. Films were shown seeing that the main character didn’t succeed in his/her task.
• Describe the historical context of the movement
“Despite the rather short run - 1943 to 1952 - the heavyweight films of the period and the principles that guided them put Italian cinema on the map at the time and continue to shape contemporary global filmmaking.” Non-professional’s did the type of filmmaking, and the edits were rough with no real transitions, with them usually being fades to black.
“By the outbreak of World War II, the country had been under Benito Mussolini's hefty thumb since 1924. In the regime's 1930s heydays, swank productions set in big hotels, tony nightclubs and ocean liners made up the "white telephone" movies, the shorthand term for their decadent Deco interiors. The protagonists always found a resolution to their insipid dilemmas, the prevailing Italian style as unchallenging as blowing bubbles.” This shows how the build up was after WWII and how the countries we in suffering after the war.
• List the Cinematic Techniques
Cinematically, neo-realism pushed filmmakers out of the studio and on to the streets, the camera freed-up and more vernacular, the emphasis away from fantasy and towards reality.”
“For many Italians, neo-realist films put images to the ideas of the Resistance”
• Identify key contributors and give a short summary of their contributions
Raffaello Matarazzo- The most successful director during the movement, Treno popolare was the best movie he directed.
Vittorio De Sica- Recognized as one of the best directors during the movement, and his movie The Bicycle Thief is recognized as one of the best movies during this movement.
Luchino Visconti- Italian theatre, opera, and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter.
Identify the key films of the movement and why they were significant.
• The Bicycle Thief
• Umberto D
• Sciuscià
• Germania anno zero
Friday, May 21, 2010
Big Idea Times 2
Task 1- Blog Assignment- "Plot's that Kill"
1. Choose one of the plots above for your "Big Idea” and reflect on what 1 or 2 films you have seen that have used this to develop their story.
I’m going to try to use the plots of the movie “21” which is a poker movie, and also the movie of “The Untouchables” where the person is down on their luck, but goes to drastic measures to get what they want.
* Identify the genre used in the film
• List some of the genre conventions that operate in the film's narrative, story and character.
Drama
Poker game explodes into murder when kid is found cheating
Shows how he needs the money to provide to his family
How he joins this group to get easy money
2. Describe a potential story that relates to the plot you've selected that you have conceived, experienced or is in the news.
People down on there luck, doing what ever it takes to get “rich” or better off fast.
• How is your idea a unique take on the plot? What major issues or ideas will your story grapple with?
I want it to relate to what people would think someone would do in that situation, and how someone will do anything to better them. People are selfish
• Who could your story be about?
People in general, and their ability to better themselves.
• What major plot/theme is your story and main character influenced by or dealing with?
The pain of not having a farther or financial support
• How does your character change or react to the challenge in front of them and what does that say about the theme or idea you are exploring?
He goes from not trying to cheat to doing whatever it takes to win.
• How have you tried to be unique in character, conflict, setting, ?
I still haven’t decided who will be in it, but I’m going to used my friends block which is a dead end, and its very dark @ night.
Task # 2 - Develop your Dramatic Moment-
1. Describe your main characters:
Main Character- Puck is a person who is down on his lucky and had family trobles in the past. He enters a game of poker to get more money for the family, and its with him and 10 other friends who put in 100$ each, which would mean 1000$ if he won for him and his mom.
Mill is the guy who is hosting the Poker Game,
Fin is the guy who hunts down Puck when he steals the $ from Mill, and eventually accidentally throws Puck into the middle of the street and gets him killed.
Dad of Puck- Gets fed up with Puck’s mom and eventually leaves
Mom of Puck- Makes many mistakes, but doesn’t want anything to happen to Puck.
* What does he or she feel, need and want
• What's at stake for success or failure in their moment/ what are the consequences of success or failure and how could they reveal themselves in the story?
The need for $ leads to mistakes that can’t be reversed.
The struggle o fix past mistakes.
2. Describe their Dramatic Moment-
* Detail the dramatic situation they find themselves in
* Consider their actions
* What do they deny?
* What do they conceal?
* How do the ideas that preoccupy your characters impose themselves on the moment (subtext)
• Outline each moment/action that reveals subtext
We see the kid with the money run into his car, and slam the door. The other kid jumps into his car and flies down the street and parks his car in front of the other kids. He jumps out and opens the Steelers door and throws him out, another fight breaks out. A car is coming down the street, and the kid who stole the $ is thrown into the middle of the street, and is hit by the car. We see the other kids reaction and he is shocked that he’s done this. We see the kid on the floor, and we see a final flashback of “His mother saying “Your all I have, never put yourself into sticky situations that might hurt you”. We flash back to the kid who now looks dead on the street, and an ambulance siren in the background. We see the other kid call his mom and says “Ms. Smith………….. your going to have to come down here”.
2. Does your casting, setting and production design reinforce their dramatic moment?
Yes it will be shot at during the night time where they characters can’t see what’s going on. Also the Plot creates suspicion of what’s really going to happen to Puck. The casting will be hard, because I need to make sure that I get the right people for the right parts and take this seriously.
1. Choose one of the plots above for your "Big Idea” and reflect on what 1 or 2 films you have seen that have used this to develop their story.
I’m going to try to use the plots of the movie “21” which is a poker movie, and also the movie of “The Untouchables” where the person is down on their luck, but goes to drastic measures to get what they want.
* Identify the genre used in the film
• List some of the genre conventions that operate in the film's narrative, story and character.
Drama
Poker game explodes into murder when kid is found cheating
Shows how he needs the money to provide to his family
How he joins this group to get easy money
2. Describe a potential story that relates to the plot you've selected that you have conceived, experienced or is in the news.
People down on there luck, doing what ever it takes to get “rich” or better off fast.
• How is your idea a unique take on the plot? What major issues or ideas will your story grapple with?
I want it to relate to what people would think someone would do in that situation, and how someone will do anything to better them. People are selfish
• Who could your story be about?
People in general, and their ability to better themselves.
• What major plot/theme is your story and main character influenced by or dealing with?
The pain of not having a farther or financial support
• How does your character change or react to the challenge in front of them and what does that say about the theme or idea you are exploring?
He goes from not trying to cheat to doing whatever it takes to win.
• How have you tried to be unique in character, conflict, setting, ?
I still haven’t decided who will be in it, but I’m going to used my friends block which is a dead end, and its very dark @ night.
Task # 2 - Develop your Dramatic Moment-
1. Describe your main characters:
Main Character- Puck is a person who is down on his lucky and had family trobles in the past. He enters a game of poker to get more money for the family, and its with him and 10 other friends who put in 100$ each, which would mean 1000$ if he won for him and his mom.
Mill is the guy who is hosting the Poker Game,
Fin is the guy who hunts down Puck when he steals the $ from Mill, and eventually accidentally throws Puck into the middle of the street and gets him killed.
Dad of Puck- Gets fed up with Puck’s mom and eventually leaves
Mom of Puck- Makes many mistakes, but doesn’t want anything to happen to Puck.
* What does he or she feel, need and want
• What's at stake for success or failure in their moment/ what are the consequences of success or failure and how could they reveal themselves in the story?
The need for $ leads to mistakes that can’t be reversed.
The struggle o fix past mistakes.
2. Describe their Dramatic Moment-
* Detail the dramatic situation they find themselves in
* Consider their actions
* What do they deny?
* What do they conceal?
* How do the ideas that preoccupy your characters impose themselves on the moment (subtext)
• Outline each moment/action that reveals subtext
We see the kid with the money run into his car, and slam the door. The other kid jumps into his car and flies down the street and parks his car in front of the other kids. He jumps out and opens the Steelers door and throws him out, another fight breaks out. A car is coming down the street, and the kid who stole the $ is thrown into the middle of the street, and is hit by the car. We see the other kids reaction and he is shocked that he’s done this. We see the kid on the floor, and we see a final flashback of “His mother saying “Your all I have, never put yourself into sticky situations that might hurt you”. We flash back to the kid who now looks dead on the street, and an ambulance siren in the background. We see the other kid call his mom and says “Ms. Smith………….. your going to have to come down here”.
2. Does your casting, setting and production design reinforce their dramatic moment?
Yes it will be shot at during the night time where they characters can’t see what’s going on. Also the Plot creates suspicion of what’s really going to happen to Puck. The casting will be hard, because I need to make sure that I get the right people for the right parts and take this seriously.
Cards That Kill Treatment
Ideas
Poker game explodes into murder when kid is found cheating
Shows how he needs the money to provide to his family
How he joins this group to get easy money
Start off with a group of people who are playing Poker with tons of cash in the middle of the table. Everyone is given cards and our main character looks at his cards and a flashback of him while his family is yelling in the background. He sees his parents yelling and the moms open purse open with no cash or credit cards. The dad says “Why is all our Money gone, you know I don’t get paid until next week. What am I going to put on the table?” The mom says to use the Credit Cards, but they can’t because we see all these letters from a Debt Company. We flashback to the kid where he looks at his cards “5Hearts and 2Clubs”. His facial expression shows frustration and we see him get more and more frustrated as he continues to get crappy cards. After awhile he’s down on chips and they decide to take a break. He’s the last one in the room, and notices a duplicate deck of cards. He snags it, and leaves.
Later, on we see the game starting back up and we see him with a bad hand again. He switches the cards and then has a pair of Kings. The rest of the cards lay out good and he wins the hand. We see another flashback of him with his parents during a good time of his life. This shows the light and how he continues to win. The other player’s chips are dwindling, and his are gaining as he keeps winning. But, he doesn’t realize that there are more face cards in the deck and more face cards are showing up. It all comes to an end when every player has a King and they see the flop with another king. A kid says, “What the hell is going on?” Everyone gets up and looks at each other. But, our main character is sitting sitting. One of the guys says “Hayyyy get the Hell up”. He stands and nothing happens. They trash the rooms, searching each other and then they see the deck under a pillow he was sitting on. They flip, and one jumps over the table and tackles em. He starts beating him up, and the can’t escape. The others pull the guy off em, and then there’s a flashback of him seeing his Dad driving away with boxes in the car kind of saying “I’m Done”. We go back and see the kid whose nose is bleeding and he too has the look on his face saying, “I’m done. The friends take the $ off the table and split it. The kid didn’t get his cut and now is trying to fight for it. He waits until there is one kid left who is the kid who lives their room. He waits till he turns around and strikes him in the head with his face. He grabs the $, and runs out of the house, He’s running to his car, and the other boys see him running with a bag. He is still running and saying to him “Why did I park, so far”. The boys run into the house and see the other boy who is KO on his floor. One of the boys says, “I’ll take care of this”, and runs out of the house. We see the kid with the money run into his car, and slam the door. The other kid jumps into his car and flies down the street and parks his car in front of the other kids. He jumps out and opens the Steeler's door and throws him out, another fight breaks out. A car is coming down the street, and the kid who stole the $ is thrown into the middle of the street, and is hit by the car. We see the other kids reaction and he is shocked that he’s done this. We see the kid on the floor, and we see a final flashback of “His mother saying “Your all I have, never put yourself into sticky situations that might hurt you”. We flash back to the kid who now looks dead on the street, and an ambulance siren in the background. We see the other kid call his mom and says “Ms. Smith………….. your going to have to come down here”.
Poker game explodes into murder when kid is found cheating
Shows how he needs the money to provide to his family
How he joins this group to get easy money
Start off with a group of people who are playing Poker with tons of cash in the middle of the table. Everyone is given cards and our main character looks at his cards and a flashback of him while his family is yelling in the background. He sees his parents yelling and the moms open purse open with no cash or credit cards. The dad says “Why is all our Money gone, you know I don’t get paid until next week. What am I going to put on the table?” The mom says to use the Credit Cards, but they can’t because we see all these letters from a Debt Company. We flashback to the kid where he looks at his cards “5Hearts and 2Clubs”. His facial expression shows frustration and we see him get more and more frustrated as he continues to get crappy cards. After awhile he’s down on chips and they decide to take a break. He’s the last one in the room, and notices a duplicate deck of cards. He snags it, and leaves.
Later, on we see the game starting back up and we see him with a bad hand again. He switches the cards and then has a pair of Kings. The rest of the cards lay out good and he wins the hand. We see another flashback of him with his parents during a good time of his life. This shows the light and how he continues to win. The other player’s chips are dwindling, and his are gaining as he keeps winning. But, he doesn’t realize that there are more face cards in the deck and more face cards are showing up. It all comes to an end when every player has a King and they see the flop with another king. A kid says, “What the hell is going on?” Everyone gets up and looks at each other. But, our main character is sitting sitting. One of the guys says “Hayyyy get the Hell up”. He stands and nothing happens. They trash the rooms, searching each other and then they see the deck under a pillow he was sitting on. They flip, and one jumps over the table and tackles em. He starts beating him up, and the can’t escape. The others pull the guy off em, and then there’s a flashback of him seeing his Dad driving away with boxes in the car kind of saying “I’m Done”. We go back and see the kid whose nose is bleeding and he too has the look on his face saying, “I’m done. The friends take the $ off the table and split it. The kid didn’t get his cut and now is trying to fight for it. He waits until there is one kid left who is the kid who lives their room. He waits till he turns around and strikes him in the head with his face. He grabs the $, and runs out of the house, He’s running to his car, and the other boys see him running with a bag. He is still running and saying to him “Why did I park, so far”. The boys run into the house and see the other boy who is KO on his floor. One of the boys says, “I’ll take care of this”, and runs out of the house. We see the kid with the money run into his car, and slam the door. The other kid jumps into his car and flies down the street and parks his car in front of the other kids. He jumps out and opens the Steeler's door and throws him out, another fight breaks out. A car is coming down the street, and the kid who stole the $ is thrown into the middle of the street, and is hit by the car. We see the other kids reaction and he is shocked that he’s done this. We see the kid on the floor, and we see a final flashback of “His mother saying “Your all I have, never put yourself into sticky situations that might hurt you”. We flash back to the kid who now looks dead on the street, and an ambulance siren in the background. We see the other kid call his mom and says “Ms. Smith………….. your going to have to come down here”.
Monday, February 1, 2010
AVATAR BLOG
1. Production: What challenges did James Cameron have in realizing his vision?
Cameron didn't want his this movie to be viewed as a science-fiction, but rather a fantasy/adventure type movie. He also wanted to show the actors performance with having people believe that the human character they see is there Avatar as well. He didn't want to make it look like an Animation, and therefore waited until the technology caught up to his philosophy.
2. Creating the Virtual World: What was the process used in creating Pandora
Pandora was created with the intent to show both Earth's features and other worlds out there. The plant was created to show the true side of Nature and how human's don't fit into this world and plants and animals thrive in this environment. How the rain forest brights up when things run past it or touch it. Pandora was created to show the beauty of Natures.
3. Performance Capture verses Motion Capture: How has performance capture changed the film making process?
Instead of having the actors just act and someone make an animation of the movie after the fact, he had the ability to shoot the film, with the Avatars at the same time. He was able to show the actors true performances, and see how it would translate to the movie. He had them in suits with all these tracking balls on them including there face to pick up there motions. He also put a camera that hooked up to their microphones that showed there true facial expressions. There were also many cameras to pick up many details from many angles.
Avatar Earnings to Boost News Corp:
A: How much money was spent on marketing for the film?
400 Million US Dollars
B: What challenges does News Corp face in realizing profits?
Their were many people or organizations that are involved with this film it takes longer to figure out the gross amount of money the film made. Then all the people who were involved and the totals will be calculated, an we will find out the net amount the film made.
C: In your opinion, does the massive budget spent on the film effect the authenticity of its message?
I don't think that money has an effect on a films authenticity at all because money isn't what makes a film great. Just because more money was spent on a film doesn't make it better than one that is less expensive. The message of the movie doesn't make it better or worst with money. With more money you will be able to have better effects and hire better people to work on your movie, but the message isn't changed, its what the script that shows the message. Good script equals a good message.
a. Do you agree with the critic's claim that Avatar "identifies the profound spiritual bankruptcy that underlies our financial insolvency...and reminds us (to)... make new choices for the greatest good of all". Or is this film just a trite recycling of previous plots that reinforces racist stereotypes? Explain with examples from the film.
I believe that Avatar shows both ideas of "identifies the profound spiritual bankruptcy that underlies our financial insolvency...and reminds us (to)... make new choices for the greatest good of all", and recycling of previous plots that reinforces racist stereotypes. The movie shows how money equals to power and how the only reason we do somethings is to benefit from getting paid. It shows how we as human want what we want even if it cost another species life because why should we care? When, the general decides to attack Home Tree it show us that he had a ruthless attitude and had no heart. But, the movie showed us how some individuals will stand up for others, even thought the majority does what benefits themselves. In addition, the plot wasn't original, but it connected to what the movie was trying to show. It showed us how stereotypes are apart of are lively hood, and just because we're watching a movie it doesn't make the stereotypes go away.
Cameron didn't want his this movie to be viewed as a science-fiction, but rather a fantasy/adventure type movie. He also wanted to show the actors performance with having people believe that the human character they see is there Avatar as well. He didn't want to make it look like an Animation, and therefore waited until the technology caught up to his philosophy.
2. Creating the Virtual World: What was the process used in creating Pandora
Pandora was created with the intent to show both Earth's features and other worlds out there. The plant was created to show the true side of Nature and how human's don't fit into this world and plants and animals thrive in this environment. How the rain forest brights up when things run past it or touch it. Pandora was created to show the beauty of Natures.
3. Performance Capture verses Motion Capture: How has performance capture changed the film making process?
Instead of having the actors just act and someone make an animation of the movie after the fact, he had the ability to shoot the film, with the Avatars at the same time. He was able to show the actors true performances, and see how it would translate to the movie. He had them in suits with all these tracking balls on them including there face to pick up there motions. He also put a camera that hooked up to their microphones that showed there true facial expressions. There were also many cameras to pick up many details from many angles.
Avatar Earnings to Boost News Corp:
A: How much money was spent on marketing for the film?
400 Million US Dollars
B: What challenges does News Corp face in realizing profits?
Their were many people or organizations that are involved with this film it takes longer to figure out the gross amount of money the film made. Then all the people who were involved and the totals will be calculated, an we will find out the net amount the film made.
C: In your opinion, does the massive budget spent on the film effect the authenticity of its message?
I don't think that money has an effect on a films authenticity at all because money isn't what makes a film great. Just because more money was spent on a film doesn't make it better than one that is less expensive. The message of the movie doesn't make it better or worst with money. With more money you will be able to have better effects and hire better people to work on your movie, but the message isn't changed, its what the script that shows the message. Good script equals a good message.
a. Do you agree with the critic's claim that Avatar "identifies the profound spiritual bankruptcy that underlies our financial insolvency...and reminds us (to)... make new choices for the greatest good of all". Or is this film just a trite recycling of previous plots that reinforces racist stereotypes? Explain with examples from the film.
I believe that Avatar shows both ideas of "identifies the profound spiritual bankruptcy that underlies our financial insolvency...and reminds us (to)... make new choices for the greatest good of all", and recycling of previous plots that reinforces racist stereotypes. The movie shows how money equals to power and how the only reason we do somethings is to benefit from getting paid. It shows how we as human want what we want even if it cost another species life because why should we care? When, the general decides to attack Home Tree it show us that he had a ruthless attitude and had no heart. But, the movie showed us how some individuals will stand up for others, even thought the majority does what benefits themselves. In addition, the plot wasn't original, but it connected to what the movie was trying to show. It showed us how stereotypes are apart of are lively hood, and just because we're watching a movie it doesn't make the stereotypes go away.
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