Chelsea Rodgers: Film Techniques Post

Bunny:

In the computer-animated short film Bunny, the film maker used seemingly childlike visuals to portray heavy themes such as life, death, and eternity. Set in a small, dated house, an elderly rabbit is confronted with a persistant moth while she is attempting to bake. The moth appears to be a symbol of death- always hovering and relentless in it's mission. One aspect that is constantly highlighted through visuals is the presence of light. The moth is always fighting, in a seemingly futile intentionality, to come in to contact with the light, but is unable to. Each light bulb it comes across pushes it back with a glass casing, a mere representation of the real light. The last scene shows the moth, joined now with the bunny, flying towards a Great, encompassing light with no barriers- seemingly the Divine.

Northfork:

One thing that particularly struck me in scenes from this movie was the strategic visuals. The unsaturated images, paired with the expansive landscapes, gave a sense of tremendum and mystique to the storyline. The scene of the young boy running, and the buffalo huddled together, seemed to speak of how freedom was both available and constrained in a landscape that was vast and void.

Paris, Texas:

In a similar fashion to Northfork, this movie spent a great deal of it's filming integrating vast, majestic landscapes in to the scenes. The themes that presented themselves throughout the film were communication (in the railroads and powerlines), travel (long walking scenes and references to feet and shoes), and relationships (between estranged husband/wife, and father/child). The film maker also used various landscapes in tandem with close up's of the characters face's, which created a personal association of sorts.

Pink Floyd:

This movie, fashioned after the music and sound of Pink Floyd, paired surrealist animation with real video filming to create a colorful, hallucigentic-like interpretation of a boy's journey through life. It depicts many scenes from an internal perspective- almost if emotions themselves were given characters and sounds. It's bizzare transformations also attest to the inward chaos that the main character was going through

Cabeza de Vaca

The filming of this movie was particularly condusive to it's storyline for various reasons. The panning of the landscapes, paired with the close ups of the characters, helped create both comparison and contrast. The Spanaird who had been enslaved was filmed in raw emotion, much like the wild jungle around him. Even then, he was contrasted in the sense that he refused to become one with the atmosphere and other religion- instead of transforming to the practices and belief of the witch doctor he maintained a fixation of another being that was very different and powerful- the God of Christianity. This further played out in the healing scene, and then his Christ-like actions at the end.

Buhl-Short film clips

Bunny

The short clip in the extras of Ice Age is very interesting to analyze the film techniques. The way the directors used objects, for example the oven, to bring greater meaning is amazing. Ovens make and transform things that we spend time creating ourselves; through life we create our identity and our life meaning. Once Bunny crawled through the oven she was transformed, like food would have done, into the world of the transcendent. The music also plays a role in the experience of the film. When times become intense the music picks up, persuading the viewer to become tenser and focus more of what is going on. During other times of calmness the music is not as energetic. 

Buffalo

            In this short clip the community is moving its dead because a flood is coming. The car is headed towards the great mountains off in the distance. What is interesting is that in the for-ground where the car is there is nothing on the land and it is dark and gray; where as if you look to the mountains off in the distance their seems to be life and stability waiting with sunshine and light to. Mountains are made of rock, which symbolizes sturdiness, and a grounded place to live.

Paris Texas

            This movie is full of mountain verse desert scenes, however what I would like to talk about is the scene where Travis and his wife are talking with each other through the glass when they both know who each other are. Reflections are key in the camera angles; when one person is talking they always have their backs toward the other. However, the other person’s face we can only see through reflections, which can represent how they cannot be with each other physically, but they still are obtaining some part of the other through the phone. Along with the reflections the producer has also overlapped each person’s image with the other person indicating they are together, yet separate.

Pink Floyd

            This film was disturbing in a way. Everything that was depicted in the animated scenes transformed into something different even more disturbing. Every transformation represented how this guy felt because of his messed up childhood. The different feelings depicted through the different transformations for me meant that he has an identity issue; he does not know who he is because all of the things in his mind are transforming so fast making him confused as to how to be content. Everything in his mind was symbolism that stood for an important message, like the blood running down into the sewage below the city.

Cabeza de Vaca

            The scene that really spoke to me was towards the end where the main character had already been through his transformation with the native people. He was standing on the “other side” of the picture from his civilization making the point that he was no longer one of them. He was against making the natives slaves in order to build the Cathedral. Yes it was for religious purposes but making the natives slaves was also against what he believed. The symbolism in his stance, where he has almost nothing behind him while the others have different types of machinery behind them represents his aloneness and also his difference.

Paige Bier_February 24_Film Clip Techniques

Bunny

In the short clip Bunny, there were many film techniques used to symbolize meaning. For example, the camera zooms in on the oven when the bunny crawls inside of it in order to follow the moth. The colors and the shallow versus depth of focus throughout the clip were also significant. We discussed that the oven’s feature is meant to bake and when you bake things, they rise, transforming the product into its complete figure. Therefore, the oven was the mission that transformed the food from one form to another. The producers also used reflections, such as the moth flying to the light in the eyeglasses of the bunny in order to display two different structures. Therefore, the way that the colors, lighting, and focus of the camera were used in the clip allowed the religious connection of Jesus and the after-life to be shown. 

Harold and Maude

In this film, we watched as the woman said “I like to watch things grow”. From a distance, the camera shows a field of flowers. As the camera zooms in for a close-up of the flowers, we see how they are all different. Automatically, the scenes switch to a distant view of a graveyard filled with tombstones that all look the same. Since our minds had just been set to relate the special qualities of each individual flower, the audience automatically applies that to the graveyard. Therefore, we saw that although the tombstones look alike, we know that there is something unique about each and every one of them- and in fact- not one is alike. This reminded me that we are all children of Christ, but each of us are unique and have our own special relationship with him. Meaning that no matter how similar our worship tactics or quiet times may be, our relationship with Him is not the same as others- because it is special and unique.

Buffalo

Powerful imagery was a big technique in Buffalo. For example, the scene of the different cars going in three different directions was powerful because of the birds eye view used to place feelings about your own faith. Another example was the mountain scene that showed the coffin car going down the road. The lighting placed on this scene by the producers was purposeful to convey the importance of life and death. Since nature was empowering over the coffin being transported, it belittled the importance of a greater God.

Paris Texas

This film held importance in music as it was a technique used to display sorrow and solitude of loneliness. The man is shown walking off of a path and the camera continues to show scenery of the desert that seems never ending. The way the scenes were structured put emphasis on communication in contrast to the sand dunes. Since the man is not walking on a path and shows different point of views (i.e., shot of rock peak à shot of bigger rock peak), the camera’s techniques were working to instill a certain emotion. The points of view of the characters were displayed through the means of communication and the direction of the power lines, which ironically are structured similar to the Cross. Therefore, I felt that the man was walking in the direction of God and where God was leading him. The sounds from the train and imagery of shoes were used to capture where the characters are walking and more importantly, why.

Pink Floyd

In the film “The Wall”, there were many techniques used to capture good and evil. The different abstracts were significant to represent the separation of good and evil. For example, the shots of warfare were used to display emotions of shame and/or hate from the main character’s perspective. On the other hand, symbols such as walls and flowers were used to represent the good. The producer’s were successful in the way they presented the children in relation to education because it allowed their point of education to be portrayed in a negative connotation. I also thought the juxtaposition in this clip was crucial as I observed the crashing down of the walls that exposed Floyd. The way the wall(s) crashed down and the facial expression on Floyd’s face was depicted was essential for receiving an emotional appeal or reaction from the audience.

Cabeza de Vaca

This film used certain features and techniques to portray the meaning of God’s trust in our lives. The introduction of the film uses different camera shots to display or reveal the Cross. The structure of the scene allowed the audience to see how religion took over those in Spain. A scene I found particularly interesting was the man trying to run away. I think that we often ask God to change situations, not realizing He meant for the situation to change us.

John Tyler: Short Film Analysis

Bunny

In “Bunny” there are several uses of deep focus, making space seem abundant yet valuable. The camera focuses on the oven, heightening the viewers experience of space. I would say that just as an oven transforms food from one state to another, the bunny was transferred from life to afterlife. The use of exposure with the light in the oven, adds to the experience of life passing through death.

Northfolk

I thought the image of the 3 cars separating and going off in 3 directions proved to be powerful imagery. With the road shaped as a cross, the camera used an effective angle of framing, by being positioned above the cars and in the sky. This imagery created a feeling within me of grief mingled with hope.

Paris Texas

The opening scene of Paris Texas was simple yet contained powerful imagery. Walking in the desert, there is a man captured by a following shot. He is surrounded by massive sand dunes and the vastness of the desert. In a few moments the camera is right in front of him and the only thing in the shot is his head and a massive rock far in the distance. This shot created a perception of this one man existing in a huge world. As the film progresses, the viewer learns that the man walking in the desert (Travis) is certainly intrigued by all forms of communication including telephone lines, airplanes and even shoes.

Pink Floyd

The Pink Floyd film “The Wall” is highly metaphorical and rich in symbolic imagery. There are numerous shots of warfare represented by planes, guns and lots of blood. The film definitely incorporates contrast and color in order to convey good and evil. By using very ugly and demented characters, the film conveys education in a negative way. The Trial scene is of Floyd hiding behind walls and eventually being judged and exposed when the walls come crashing down.

Cabeza de Vaca

In the very beginning of the film there are multiple camera shots of a cross either explicitly revealed or hidden.  I believe this was to set a cohesive narrative of the film’s journey through and perception of religion. Later in the film there is a scene of modern man using the indigenous people as slaves to construct a Cathedral. The scene is set up in such a way that the viewer cannot help but notice the intrusion of religion and the confrontation of Spain’s presence.

Luke Jeffery: Short Film Analysis

Bunny (Short Film)

• This film includes themes of life and death: metamorphosis into something she was trying to get away from (death), yet it kept knocking at her door and eventually led her to happiness.
• The use of motion in the film evokes different emotions and feelings from the viewer.
• The moth becomes a figure like the angel of death.
• The oven is a machine that transforms.
• Clesmer music is included in the film, which originated from the Jews in Eastern Europe.

Harold & Modd

• Montage of small little plants to a picture of a large field of flowers, it is a great us of film technique to access different parts of the viewer's mind processes to communicate something
• Modd points out that we are all unique but we treat ourselves like we are just like anyone else, then the film zooms out to the graveyard with the tombstones, resembling the field full of flowers.
• Harold is seen smirking at the camera, his mom just wants to control him and measures him up and down.

North Fork

•        The Buffalo representing the transitory-ness of life 
•       We have the mountains in the background representing transcendence and steadfastness

Paris Texas

• Shot of the desert that first starts out with the man as a speck, then a medium-close shot is shown, and finally a closeup shot is shown but behind him you can see the tall rock formations, each time he seems very small in the landscape of the film.
• He is not walking on a road once he gets past the desert
• When he comes to a place where his brother is, he continues to look at the power lines back and forth but his brother is trying to get him into the car. As they are talking it’s like there are two opposing forces (mountains behind them)
• He is back at a house and is using the binoculars to focus on airport, freeway, and then polishes the shoes (all modes of transportation/transmission)
• Travis finds his wife in this brothel that is legal because they keep the prostitute behind this one-way mirror and Travis on the other side. The customer can see through the mirror to the prostitute but the prostitute cannot see through the mirror.
• “It’s hard to talk to strangers…I don’t mind listening, I do it all the time”
• You can see the phone through the mirror laying down on the table
• There is an interesting overlay of images when Travis and his wife are looking through the mirror at each other, their faces meld together into one.

Pink Floyd

• The War shows the blood of the people is like sewage, it doesn’t mean anything to the country
• Two flowers fighting symbolize his relationship with different women in his life

Mexican Film

• Cross is displayed prominently
• Priest is seen holding up the cross disappearing into the light
• The center of the world for Catholics is Christianity, yet that icon has disappeared completely from them
• Exploring why this Christian guy who came to the Mexican tribe went crazy
• Lizard represents the man and he has to stay within the boundaries of the circle, shaman calls him back to himself.
• In the speech, he starts to bring the others into the picture.
• The sea is what is separating him from the reality that he knows
• Ecstatic experience is displayed well using film techniques

Luke Taylor: Short Film Analysis (Blog Assignment #2)

Bunny:

                I thought this was a great film. I’d like to focus more on the oven in this film. I love the idea of what the oven represents; as we said in class, it ‘transforms’ things that enter into it. For example, when one places cookie dough in an oven they transform into a different figure and create delicious cookies. In the film, Miss Bunny (hopefully a sufficient name) crawls into the oven and is transformed into a ‘different figure.’ As the cookie dough transforms into this new, greater being if you will, Miss Bunny does the exact same thing by transforming into a greater being. She is no longer living in the agony of the loss of a loved one but is now on her way to be reunited. In addition, at the very end of the clip the camera focuses back on the photo of Mr. and Mrs. Bunny at their wedding day. What is interesting is that two moths reflect off of the glass and their wings become one with the photo and are placed on the back of the couple, giving them wings in the photo. This is symbolic because it shows us as the audience that Mr. and Mrs. Bunny have been reunited and transformed into ‘greater beings.’ Great film.

Harold and Maude

                What I would like to focus on in this film is Maude’s description of how the flowers/graves represent humans. I thought it was very interesting how she pointed out that we have become almost okay with accepting ourselves as regular people in our society. She talks about how we are all just a bland group of people and that every person is the same- thus the graves representing us plain, ordinary, similar people. She also mentions how we have the capabilities to be like flowers. That from far away, from a surface level we all may seem the same but from a closer up look we are much more than that. A flower is full of beautiful things; it has different shapes and sizes, different color, different smells, different meanings, etc. Every type of flower is different and unique and that is the point Maude is trying to make, that each person may look the same on the outside but no one person is the same. Psalms 139:14 talks about how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God. That NO one in this entire world is the same. Maude understands that and makes a beautiful analogy of comparing us to flowers but capturing the sad sight of a society that sees us as the same representing ‘graves.’

Buffalo

                What I would like to focus on for this film is when the car is carrying the casket to upper grounds. What is distinctly interesting about this scene is the beautiful shot of the mountains. For such an unfortunate scene of a body having to be moved after many complications, the view of the mountains is almost this depiction of false advertising. The mountains become this representation of stability, hope, but most of all, transcendence. They are the highest up point in the setting and represent this dead body on the way to transcendence to the heavens. In addition, they are also lit up. They are the brightest area to the film which compliments the ‘heavenly’ feel that the director is trying to portray in his scene.

Paris Texas

                The scene I would primarily like to focus on in this film is when Travis and his wife are reunited and have just shared each other’s stories. The moment they both turn towards one another to communicate is especially significant. For one thing it represents this unification. It is such a powerful moment when director plays off of their reflection and make their faces combine together as though they have connected and become one. For the first time in a long time they are back together, unified and on the same page. Their physical connection is broken because of a big wall/mirror/window that separates them and keeps them from truly being together; however, the deeper connection is clearly visible when the director plays with their reflection and uses the creamer angle to signify that they are one.

Pink Floyd

                Well this was odd. I do not have too much to say about this film. I guess the thing I would prefer to focus on was the consistent creativity of the director. In the animated scenes there were constant shapes changing to fit the symbolism which kept my attention and attentiveness throughout the entire clip. In addition, I thought it was very interesting how so many ‘monsters’ collaborated together and ganged up on the ragdoll that sat against the wall. To me, it made me think of how some people can be in the society we live in. Very quick to gang up on and scare/bully others who do not know where they stand. The ragdoll was not given a face; in fact, it was very plan and ordinary. That ragdoll could very well represent the brokenness in the world that people hold onto. By ‘punishing’ themselves they try to erase their identity and let ‘monsters’ put them in their place. I do not think that was the intent of the director but that’s what I saw when I watched that scene.

Cabeza De Vaca

                In this film I thought it was particularly interesting when de vaca was trying to run away. I saw this scene as more than him physically running away but compared it to people in our everyday lives. There are times where we are always trying to run, to hide from God and do not what to be obedient in what his plans are for us. In the bible, Jonah decided to not be immediately obedient with God and tries to run away just like de Vaca. What is interesting is that no matter how fast or far away de Vaca gets, he ends up right back where he started. Similarly, no matter how far Jonah tries to go, God brings him back and doesn’t lose sight of him. I thought the parallel between the two were really cool and wanted to share that about this film.

Tyler Duvall - Film Techniques

Bunny

            Impressions: I want to explore the stove…So much wonder regarding what you are uncertain of.

            Discussion: The music really added suspense and the angles were used to grab the audience’s attention on specific items. It was interesting to see the stove as a gateway to heaven because the name of the stove, though blurry, said “King” which to me signifies Jesus.

Northfork

            Impressions: The scenery communicated much of the message…gloomy feelings.

            Discussion: The Mountain in the scene with the coffin being transported made me feel like their situation in comparison to God was incredibly small. Not that it was no important but rather a small blip in the realm of eternity. The contrast in lighting between the coffin car and the mountain really conveyed death vs. life.

Paris Texas 

            Impressions: The film felt dry like the desert scene…gave me a hopeless feeling for majority of the characters.

            Discussion: The intro used great angles and scenery to convey overwhelming landscapes that swallow up the character’s essence. The use of item placement also was intentional to display meaning. The symbols of trains, shoes, walking, airplanes, and bridges all speak about Travis’ journey to find himself in a place where there is nothingness. When Travis tells his story the director used great contrast to hide Travis and eliminate his wife. This scene used a great deal of perspective as the wife saw the lack of completion while Travis saw completion.

Pink Floyd

                Impression: The film was bizarre...made me feel strange with the combination of music and visuals.

            Discussion: Animation of war shown as a bird grasping chinks of landscape in single swoops shows the ferocity of war.  The director made great use of contrast and colors to convey feelings of guilt and shame from the perspective of the main character. Lots of symbolism like walls, flowers, and judges used to represent the women in his life. The “No Education” scene is interesting as it uses film angles to show the manufacturing of robotic-like children in the education system.

Cabeza de Vaca

            Impressions:  This film offers great use of colors to show vibrant thoughts…I was provoked by this film to trust God even more for miracles

            Discussion: The attack scene used framing to show the cross which symbolized that the “gospel” of those who were enslaving led to death. The ritual used to bring back the Spanish slave showed an interesting conversion from the “gospel for Spanish only” to “God is for everyone”. The first healing again used framing to show the view of the tribe as well as the view of the slave. It was awesome. The raising of the dead was intense as it used symbolism of Christ laying down his life for our resurrection. The confrontation of the Spanish scene used angles and scenery to show the division of the Spanish healer and the other Spanish men by having a ditch separating them.

            

The Decalogue Films- Buhl

The visual medium of film certainly works as Midrash seeing that this Jewish concept in a way fills in all of the gaps or missing pieces of a text and gives it a different perspective and meaning. Film is a visual medium that illustrates to the viewer what is going on; the meanings do not have to explicitly be revealed to the viewer, making the concept applicable. Because there is room for interpretation in some films, including the Decalogue films, it follows the requirements of being Midrash. Some select parts are up for interpretation with regards to meaning, including the  “god like” man who appeared in both films we watched. His character placement and meaning could have different interpretations just as Midrash could have with reading the Torah or Tanakh.

This film is full of heavy emotions that made me irritated at different periods throughout the films. Those feelings sparked something inside of me when can be translated into meaning for others. Each of the films are about one of the Commandments, the feelings and emotions produced through watching the films creates a moral obligation in a way to help the viewer understand first hand why those Commandments are in place and the righteousness of each one of them. Throughout both of these films the viewer can see the power God has over people living on earth, even the ones who do not believe. For those who do not believe and view these films might arise some questioning thoughts and points about what they witnessed. Even though the plot lines are made up, the meaning of the stories and the emotions portrayed will still resonate with people.