Millies Film Blog

                      Binary opposites    Academic  education  v  practical education / life experience/social skills   conservative v  progressive  cold lighting v  warm lighting                       Parent v  child  Ben v Bo communism v capitalism  equality    v   inequality   suburbia   v wilderness  safety  v risk  formal traditional ritual  v informal unconventional ritual large families vs small families unique vs mainstream  

 On your blog, justify ONE of the interpretations of Connect (or make up another) by referencing the Mise-En-Scene or filmmaking. (2 paragraphs) Connect is about the mundanity of modern life, the characters are tired and bored, their facial expressions show their exhaustion. The costumes the actors are wearing are mostly suits or formal clothes, mostly grey, this could reflect the boring nature of modern day life. The dark lighting reflects the mundane nature of modern life. One of the characters on the bus is asleep, he is also wearing a dark suit this reflects the slow nature of modern life. The main character doesn't talk and is often daydreaming, this is her escapism from her boring journey. she also touches hands with a man, this highlights her need for escapism. this impacts the audience as they can relate, most journeys home from work are often like this, boring, mundane and exhausting. Connect also uses mostly close up shots to show the characters facial expressions. the ch...

 

  Why is the short film ‘Wallace & Gromit’ engaging? (2-3 paragraphs)   Wallace and Gromit is engaging because it uses binary opposites to help create tension. The Narrative uses binary opposites to show Gromit as the typical hero and The Penguin as a typical villain. The penguin appears innocent when the audience first meet him but as the narrative continues Gromit discovers the penguin is a master criminal, this plot twist is engaging for the audience as it makes the audience wonder what will happen in the narrative. The penguin is shown to the audience to be intrusive when he gets let into the house and immediately tales Gromit room, this makes the audience not like the penguin and the audience want to see what is happening with the penguin and they hope Gromit will get revenge. Throughout the film the music creates the sense that the penguin is evil as the penguin has leightmotif whenever he is on screen, the music that is played is ominous and has an evil tone. The pe...

Meeting Kilgore The opening to the meeting Kilgore scene has Kilgore and Willard slightly left in the frame, this is so we can see the background and destruction happening behind them. The background looks chaotic and this reflects Kilgores attitude and methods. The lighting is warm and has an orange tinge to it, this is because of the destruction of the village as it's been destroyed by American soldiers. When Kilgore walks away from Willard while he is trying to talk to him there is cut which and shows Willard left alone, this also reinforces Kilgores character and how he's chaotic and unorthodox. Kilgore walks along with a pack of cards and throws them on the dead bodies, this is also showing how unorthodox Kilgore is. Throughout the scene we can also hear helicopters in the background, this helps create the atmosphere for the scene and makes it more realistic. While walking through the village Kilgore is followed by a journalist who is taking pictures or him and what he...

 Opening Scene- Apocalypse now The opening of Apocalypse now is a wide establishing shot of the Vietnamese jungle, the jungle gets blown up and the green trees turned bright orange as it is blown up, this foreshadow the future themes of chaos and also the narrative and Willard will eventually end up in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was, from an Americans point of view, was a damaging war to many soldiers and also to America as a nation because of the fact they lost, Coppola wanted to show the damaging affects of the Vietnam War using the character of Willard therefore the explosion further highlights the way Vietnam War damaged Willard, this is further shown when Coppola has made Willards face faded over the scenes of war. This shows Willard is haunted by war. the scenes of war slowly fade into Willards ceiling fan, this shows that Willard is coming back into realty and the audience can see he isn't in a war environment. The ceiling fan fades back to the war scenes and the audience can ...

 How does the director make an impact on the audience through the character of the girl? The director uses a direct address to the audience, this makes the audience feel a connection the character as she is addressing us directly. This makes the plot twist at the end more hard hitting and impactful on the audience. The character directly addressing the audience makes the audience feel like they understand the character and her life as she is telling it. The direct address allows the audience to hear the girls accent and how she speaks which implies her class where she is from, the direct address also allows us to understand in depth her opinions on her family and friends first hand, the information comes straight from her. The direct address is effective because we are given a lot information directly from the person instead of watching it slowly unfold through her narration. Because we understand the characters lifestyle, family life and aspirations, the audience feels like they u...