Arturo Correa-inspired piece

Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to Arturo Correa about my piece since I was in Manila for Forensics and Debate competition. However, I did ask Jessica Allen what she thought Arturo would tell me about my work. Jessica said that my piece looks like pop art and she also said that it looked similar to one of Arturo's pieces.


I'm very happy with how this piece turned out because collage is not my strength. I've only done it once before and hated the result. However, this time, I finally decided to tackle my fear of failure and try collage again. Through trial and error, I discovered a technique that I've never tried before. I used clear plastic sheets to make sure that the collage paper was properly layered. This technique allowed my piece to look less messy than my first collage, which I'm extremely happy about because messiness was my main concern in the beginning of this journey.

On top of this, I simply enjoyed creating this piece which was quite a surprise for me as someone who is more of a drawing rather than 2D person. This artwork makes me want to create more collages and just experiment with other styles of art in general.

Hitchcock, "The Master of Suspence"

In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, point of view editing allows us to view the world through Jeff Jefferies's eyes. A lot of the shots are cause-effect, showing the photographer's reaction to what he sees outside the window. This technique makes the movie more interesting as we switch from something expected and ordinary (Jefferies in the wheelchair) and something more intriguing (his neighbors' lives). The use of jump cuts and parallel editing also add to this effect. For example, Hitchcock likes to jump back and forth between the close-up of Jeff's face and his neighbor's undressing just to show us his reaction.

Whiplash drums up the ultimate movie experience

As I fell into the movie theatre seat, lazily chewing on my popcorn, I wasn’t expecting much of what I was about to see. “A movie about a drummer, how random is that?”, I was thinking to myself. My boyfriend, a passionate drummer, a movie nerd, and an avid fan of J.K. Simmons, pulled me into this.

When the film started, I wasn’t yet willing to enjoy it, affected by prejudice against a seemingly boring story. However, as the movie progressed, I was unable to stay indifferent to great acting and cinematography so I quickly shed the prejudice that I originally had. Moreover, I started to fall in love with the convincing story of a young drummer, Andrew, who gets tormented and humiliated by his teacher, Terence Fletcher. For the first time in my movie-going experience, J.K. Simmons’s Oscar-winning performance made me feel like I was the terrorized student behind the drum set. Neither did I think that a career in music could involve blood, sweat, and tears to the extent that it did in Whiplash. 

I flashed back to my own experience with high expectations being set in school but I couldn’t recall anything even vaguely similar to the utterly intense scenes from Whiplash.  

The last ten minutes of the film had me reeling on the edge of the seat. Centered on an electrifying musical performance given by Andrew, the finale was presented as a costly triumph that was ultimately worth the pain. The scene consisted of incredibly raw close-ups that gave me shivers. With blood gushing from his wound, Andrew played the drums like his life depended on it. The ten-minute finale was so intense that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I had to close my eyes and block my ears because I was absolutely certain that Andrew would end up going crazy or even dying. In fact, both Miles Tellers’s and J.K. Simmons’s incredible acting skills made me sympathize with Andrew to the point that I felt what he was feeling. This was the first time that a movie literally made me feel one with the character. 

As the lights turned back on and people started leaving the auditorium, I remained still, as if struck by lightning. 

It took me a few days to fully take in the movie. Upon reflecting on it, I remembered J.K. Simmons’s most famous line, “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than "good job". This line, perhaps, mirrors the essence of movie critiquing; indeed, there is nothing worse than a “good movie”. Thanks to Whiplash, I realized what sets brilliant films apart from good ones. The same exact story could be made into an incredibly bland, mediocre movie, but instead, it turned out to be the best film I’ve ever seen. Why? For me, it was the combination of incredible cinematography and top-notch acting that made Whiplash the epitome of hand-to-throat storytelling. 

Here I am, hungry for more films that will drum up my interest in modern cinematography. Except that next time, I will put away the prejudice and dive into what might become the next ultimate movie experience. 

Breakfast Club

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPOI79_9LAY

The Effect of Freeze Frame in Breakfast Club

Freeze frames are metaphors for dealing with time because they leave us with an impression that no further change will be made to whatever it is that's "frozen". This is especially effective when such a frame is used at the very end of a movie, like it is in "Breakfast Club". By halting the shot at the spoof of Bender's fist pump, John Hughes creates a metaphor of timelessness: The image suggests teenage rebellion, so obvious throughout the movie. In the stillness of this shot, Bender tells Mr. Vernon that it's pointless to try and change the five "detentioned" high schoolers. The frozen image assures the audience that they will never change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv1I4q6lOpo

Analyzing Form in Cinema

"The Conversations" teaches me that when one talks about movies, it is often done in the form of comparison between films of the same genre or time period. Jaws, for example, is largely compared to other so-called "summer blockbusters"in order to make a point that Jaws isn't a typical one. No matter what the two critics are talking about, they keep going back to other films of the category: "...really great horror movies don't just provoke reactions of fear, they're also about fear." Not only this, but they also compare Spielberg to other directors: "And, like Quentin Tarantino after him, Spielberg clearly wants us to enjoy Jaws not just as adventure but as a movie adventure." Ed Howard talks a lot about how the film feels (which is, most of the time, subjective), as well as about its story line and special effects (or the lack thereof). Jason Bellamy talks about the balance between the special effects and the story line. Additionally, he mentions the power of shots not just as stand-alone elements but with a reference to anotehr film: "Those shots, ostensibly from the shark's perspective, recall the underwater shots in Creature From the Black Lagoon." Bellamy discusses only the shots that are especially effective, "Later, the girl's hand washes up on the beach, the first evidence of the shark that will soon terrorize the area, and Spielberg delivers a sensational closeup of the detached hand..." Another notable thing about "The Conversations" is that both film critics barely quote the characters from Jaws. Most of their conversation is circled around analysis of specific scenes and effects as well as their effectiveness. The talked-about shots are in order, so the conversation is similar to watching the film, except with some major commentary in it. Most importantly, Ed Howard and Jason Bellamy talk about all aspects of form in this movie: its structure, point of view, and theme. By going over each one of these aspects, they provide us with a full analysis of the movie in comparison to other films within this genre. 

Mise en Scene Analysis of Jaws Sample Frame

Our eye is immediately attracted to the city mayor because he is in the dominant area of the shot. Not only is he in the centre, but he is also wearing a light blue suit that contrasts with the darker, more neutral colors of other men's suits. 

The shot is rather a combination of high and low key; the lighting looks natural. 

It's a knee-up medium shot. 

The camera is set at the eye level. 

There is no one dominant color in this shot, however, the main ones are grey, red, and light blue. Out of the four men, the mayor stands out the most because of the light color of his suit. The reason behind this has to do with color symbolism- we can tell that the mayor is in charge, his opinion is weighed more than anyone else's. 

There is no great sense of depth in this shot, however, neither is the image compressed. The used lens is closer to a telephoto one. Since the shot is a little grainy, the stock must be fast rather then slow. 

The other three men are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant, the mayor. All men are in focus and their size is significant. 

The image is very dense because all objects are in focus. In addition, the car behind the men is red, so it also attracts our attention. Moreover, a man who is leaning on the car is wearing a white shirt, which makes him stand out against the greens and browns of the background. 

This shot has circular composition because of the way men surrounded Brody. 

The form of this shot is closed because all the necessary information seems structured within the confines of the frame. All the visual elements are arranged and held in balance. 

The characters are placed at the left edge of the frame, especially Brody. They have little room to move around within the frame because they are standing on a bridge and behind them, there is a car. Therefore, the framing is tight. 

Foreground, midground, and background are all in focus, however, the foreground is what we, as audience, focus on the most. Midground and background don't comment on the foreground. 

The characters occupy half of the foreground, from the left edge to the center. The reason Brody is placed near the edge is because Spielberg suggests his insignificance while the mayor's placement in the center point at his importance. 

Three men are shown in profile which suggests their focus on the conversation rather then on the outside world. One man is looking directly into the camera, somehow inviting us into the conversation. 

The distance in this shot is personal between the foreground characters.