Storyboard Imitation...

         

         

          

        For this blog I again pulled from the tremendously well done film Death on the Nile, based on Agatha Christies amazing novel of the same name. This was a very simplistic storyboard, but abided by all of the three rules of directing a scene, which are the Rule of Thirds, the 30 Degree Rule, and the 180 Degree Rule.

The Rule of 30 Degrees was used seamlessly in the shots between the children and the Doyle couple. These cuts allowed the intensity of the scene to plow forward with the same pattern that any one would expect from a Christie novel, therefore solidifying the story line. Who would have thought that these cuts would advance the story as such?

Secondly, the Rule of Thirds was just as brilliantly filmed. Your subconscious attention is pulled always to the sight of the Doyle couple as opposed to the children (one exception would be the 2s MS of the boys before the statue falls). This is done because of the natural height of the two adult actors towering over the younger ones and residing in the upper quadrant of the screen. The upper quadrant is where viewers subconsciously look for the first time on screen. I believe that the director of this scene did this intentionally, creating a dynamic shot without that much effort. 

Finally the 180 Degree Rule was not broken at all. Every single shot filmed (even the shot of the statue falling) was done on the same one hundred and eighty degree arc. I find that following the 180 Degree Rule can be a rather tedious and annoying task (if it was up to me, I’d cut the film all over the place) but I give credit where it is due to the director of this movie. Very few artists can do what he has done with just a few simplistic shots.

Scene Deconstruction... a more expensive version of Animated Deconstruction

The clip I chose is again from the Bohemian Revolution movie classic Moulin Rouge! This movie has a plethora of dramatic and darker themes. The film itself revolves around the “gentleman’s club” called the Moulin Rouge which sits in the early 1900’s in a suburb of Paris, France (the city of love). The film revolves mainly around the aspect of love, and a few sub themes of jealousy, anger and confusion. These themes are all given actively, since many times in the film it is stated out flatly. 

The scene in which I posted is when the protagonist has his first visit to the Moulin Rouge. 

The first topic I would like to elaborate on this clip would be the lines in the film. This film does a remarkable job as subtly constructing subconscious lines. An example of this would be the framing of the Can-can dancers in one of the opening shots of their song. This subconscious framing allows the mind to in a way idolize and put these women, essentially prostitutes, into an untouchable frame if mind. Another use of the line element, and this can be debated whether its conscious or subconscious, would be the organization of the male “customers.” The forming of these lines alludes to a much larger crowd, when in reality the size is not that immense. Again this is debatable wether you notice or not. 

The second, and final topic that is noticeable in this scene would be the rhythm of the scene. The spastic and random film cuts (although they are breaking the 180 Degree Rule countless times) is in my mind a beautiful piece work of editing. The success of this editing may lay in the supreme contrast of colors between the workers of  the Moulin Rouge (bright, vibrant, almost sickening in a way) and then the contrast of the “clients” ( mainly, a dark suit, dark tie, and bright white shirt). Overall the theme of loved tied with the random cinematography and subconscious lines creates a stellar and  overall amazing production. 

Animation Deconstruction...

For this animation deconstruction I chose two animation stills from two Disney classics, The Sword and the Stone, and The Princess and the Frog. I chose these clips specifically for the reason that the colors, even though they are the same, convey two totally different emotions from the body. The hues used in both of the stills are all consistent variated hues of pink, green and blue. However in the Sword and the Stone still the main characters are the main representations of the pink and blues (the shades of pink characterizing the villains edginess and madness, while the blue symbolizes the protagonists calming motif). On the contrast the colors of blue and pink in the Princess and the Frog still are melded together in different ways to symbolize love. The hues are not as crisp and distinct as they were in the Sword and the Stone still, therefore creating a calmer effect. The backgrounds in both stills are a consistent dark, lowly saturated, green. This creates a sense of uneasiness in the Sword and the Stone still due to the vibrant brightness of the characters colors, while in The Princess and the Frog the green in the background is a somewhat cooler effect directing the focus of the picture towards the dancing frog couple. 

The lighting of the different stills is not as similar as the color was between them. For starters the Sword in the Stone still shows no significant amount of shadows or mood with the two characters. The background on the other hand shows more of a darker and sinister tone which alludes to the fact that something is about the happen, which creates and anxious ambience or mood. Now if we focus on the Princess and the Frog still, we see that the lighting is far more important. The shadows are more prominent and add much more depth to the picture. As exampled by the dancing frogs on the lily pad, the lily pad is brought out into an almost third dimension through the use of shadows. The mood of this still, through the lighting, exemplifies and symbolizes the love and passion between these two amphibian lovers. Over all, the differences between the two stills is similar, yet oh so different.

Blog #5... Sound Deconstruction

For this blogging assignment I chose to compare and contrast the Queen hits song “The Show Must Go On” to the cover version the hit film “Moulin Rouge” did as well. To start off the two versions of the song are overall spectacular! The lyrics of the song create an underlying sense of tenacity and hope, but over all a message that says that no matter what the odds you must “go on with the show.” In the original and movie version, you can tell the song means more than just a stage performance, but means to go on with your very life. 

The melody of the first piece had a driven and continuous feel to the whole song. One could also say that it was very monotonous and set in its ways. This was accredited to the fact that it was a simple yet intense melodic tune. The simplicity of the notes I feel added great panache to the song, and highlighted the sung vocals. On the other hand, the cover version added a lot more melodic accompaniment to this song which created a more intense version of the song. This added a far more dramatic feel to the song, which I believe was what the composer was going for when he adapted this song to the screen. 

The musical quality of the original song was very simplistic. The pitch was not that high also resulting in a medium tempo song. The rhythm of the song was steady throughout the entire piece, being kept steady by the simplistic synthesizer beats (which I believe were a very important part to the song). The depth of the original song was shallow instrumentally, but lyrically it was a tour de force of emotion. The vocals carry this song. The “Moulin Rouge” version on the other hand, kept the same vocal power but added much more intensity and depth through the addition of operatic back up vocals and the inclusion of a concert orchestral piece. 

If I were to choose which version I preferred more, I would have to say the intensity and arrangement of the Moulin Rouge version was much more emotional and therefore got more of an response out of me. Although its hard to compare this version to the original lyrical triumph.

iMove Test...

Custom Animation

Sound in Film...

 

In this scene from the film based of the classic Agatha Christie novel "Death on the Nile" many audio topics are heard throughout the piece. Two of the most prominent aspects would be the Space of the sound and the Listening Modes used. This clip uses the eagle cries, cicada chirps to create a large, vast open area in which the characters converse in. While also when the boulder falls, the trill of the background music adds a sense of direction. The direction being down because of the lofty position of the boulder. While the Space of the clip is portrayed quite well, the Listening modes is as well. The clip used many experiences of Casual sounds which are literal things we hear in life ( in example: footsteps, hawk cries, children babbling etc). Also the clip uses a fair amount of Semantic sound, otherwise known as representational sound. An example of this type of sound would be the background music in the clip and how it increases, decreases or crescendos at different points of the film. Most prominently when it is needed. All in all this clip is an excellent source of audio editing and sound manipulation, because over all, what is a movie without sound?