Category Archives: Homework

Homework

Homework #4: Filming Locations-Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’

4 Comments
School house in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" 1963
School house in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” 1963

In Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), a beautiful socialite Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren in her first film role) takes a trip from San Francisco to Bodega Bay in pursuit of Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Although Hitchcock preferred to film on a studio set, there are numerous location shots that highlight his love for San Francisco and the surrounding area. As a hobby, the California architect HervĂ© Attia produced a film short that revisits many of Hitchcock’s locations for The Birds. Watch Attia’s short film and a clip of the gas station scene. What do you think of “fan” movies like Attia’s that deconstruct films and revisit locations?

Watch Attia’s film location video here.

Watch the gas station sequence here.

Homework #4 is DUE by Tuesday, May 10 May 19th by midnight.‹ Please Submit a Post and Comment on a classmate’s post.

Homework, Student Posts

Homework 3: Taxi Driver

Leave a comment

This 70’s drama made by director Martin Scorsese stars Robert De Niro (shown in the clip above) as insomniac ex-Marine Travis Bickle who is a Taxi Driver in New York City. After an encounter with a malevolent fare (played by Scorsese), increasingly paranoid Travis begins to condition (and arm) himself for his imagined destiny. The series of jump cuts used in this scene show us (the silent audience) how paranoia has consumed him and taken over his life .

Homework

HOMEWORK #3 “The Ring”

2 Comments

A jump cut is  defined as a cut in film editing where the middle section of a continuous shot is removed, and the beginning and end of the shot are then joined together. The technique breaks continuity in time and produces a startling effect. Any moving objects in the shot will appear to jump to a new position. The film I choose was “The Ring” in this film and in many other horror films we see that the jump cutting technique is very common in these films to frighten the viewer into believing that these events are really happening. We see in the clip above of Sadako Yamamura coming out the t.v and crawl toward the man then stands up and then jump right in front of him causing him to fall over. This is a jump cut where we two shots of the same subject that vary only slightly.

Homework

Homework #3: Jump Cuts in Reitman’s “Juno”

2 Comments

Juno (2007)

juno-01-1024007JNO_Jennifer_Garner_020Juno-2007-Front-Cover-30769

 

 

Juno is a film that amazing uses jump cuts in its story telling. Jump cut is an editing technique that takes out certain frames to help shorten the film or to make a certain point. In the film, Juno, Reitman tells the story of a young teenager going through a pregnancy and giving up her child at the end of the movie. Reitman not only uses jump cuts to express the passing of time, but to express the changes in Juno’s life. The first jump we see is to the season of winter, Juno is just entering her pregnancy and we see that she does not really care about anything, just wants to give her baby away. Then we enter spring and summer, each jump cut we see Juno expressing a bit more emotions. Like checking out the adoptive parents or going to the doctors for checkups. Each jump cut can be seen as one of the five stages of grief. As we jump to the final chapter labeled as “summer” Juno understands what she is giving away and how it’ll affect her life and everyone else’s. I believe that the jump cuts did an amazing job in expressing that.

Homework, Student Posts

Homework #3 “The Battleship Potemkin” -Anjali

Leave a comment

Jump cuts in editing is a type of editing where the transition between each scene that is abrupt and somewhat lacks in continuity. It’s usually cut in a brief manner between shots and can be represented differently, depending on the content. It can be for a montage, it can show time passing by, it can show certain events and more. A perfect example of a film that contains such editing is “The Battleship Potemkin”, directed by Sergei Eisenstein. There is a famous scene in this film where there are explosions from multiple architectures. Meanwhile, there’s rapid cuts to some cupid statues and then to the lions. The expressions from each lion statue shown vary from cut to cut. As the explosions get wilder and wilder, the expressions on the lion’s faces gets more and more terrified. This montage is done to show how extreme the surroundings are. It is also done to portray creativity with the editing by the usage of rapid cuts and the style of jump cutting. In addition, the way that the props were utilized and filmed in this scene is also genius. Thus more proof of why this film remains iconic to this very day.

Homework

Homework #3: Jump Cuts in Godard’s “Breathless”

Leave a comment
Film still of Patricia (Jean Seberg) in car, Jean-Luc Godard, "Breathless," 1960
Film still of Patricia (Jean Seberg) in car, Jean-Luc Godard, “Breathless,” 1960

Jean-Luc Godard’s extensive use of jump cuts in Breathless (À bout de souffle) 1960 was highly influential on the “look” of many later films. In a jump cut, two shots of the same subject differ in angle or composition, the disjuncture creates a visual “jump” on the screen. The jump cut is an example of discontinuous editing, however, the uneven transition of one shot to another is often described as an amateurish technique. Yet, Godard masterfully uses the jump cut to highlight the urban rhythm of Paris and the whirlwind pace of modern romance. Watch this clip, in which Michel (Jean Paul Belmondo) gives Patricia (Jean Seberg) a ride across town to her appointment. Note the number of jump cuts in the car sequence, in particular, the change in backdrop that frames Patricia’s head.

For this homework, please search for the use of jump cuts in a later film. You can watch clips of a movie you like to see whether  jump cuts are used, or simply “google” jump cuts. Post a link to the film you’ve found and describe the impact of the jump cuts in that film clip.

Watch the car sequence in Breathless here.

To complete this homework assignment, you must Post the use of a jump cut in a film and Comment on one  of your classmates’ posts.

Due Tuesday May 3rd (the first day back after Spring Break!) 

Homework

Spectre Opening Scene (By Christopher Ally)

Leave a comment

 

007 is what people call James Bond and I can honestly say that his movies are licensed to kill as well. My all time favorite so far has to be “Spectre”, especially the beginning of the movie. During the beginning of this movie there was a complete different take on who James Bond was. It all started off with the Dia de Los Muertos parade. A large crowd surrounded a man walking the opposite way in all white. People including myself thought it was Bond but of course it was not that easy. The camera then makes a sudden swing to a man in a black outfit with a skeleton body on it and a woman in a dress. They walked up the stairs to her room where Bond shows his true identity. This is were all the suspense begins. Bond walks out the door and walks away as if he’s just going on a stroll. That isn’t the case, he then pulls out a gun while he was on roof tops after leaving the woman’s room. By doing this he has identified that the enemy was close. He point his gun to the window and all eyes are on the edge of their seats to see what he does. It is all about anticipation and that is what Bond does well in this movie. My attention was grabbed immediately by the parade and the only people walking to other way.

Homework

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Leave a comment

The movie Inglorious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth, is an action dramedy film about World War II and the Nazi party. The inglorious bastards are a group of soldiers that are sent out on a mission to kill Hitler and end the Nazi regime.The movie also stars a young Jewish woman named Shoshanna Dreyfus who, at first, escaped Nazi persecution and after a few years was able to change her identity and become the owner of a movie theater in France. The theater catches the interest of the Nazis and they decide to hold a premier for a Nazi movie with Hitler himself on the guest list. One more star of the movie is a Nazi colonel named Hans Landa, also known as the “Jew hunter,” who was the man that killed the Dreyfus family leaving Shoshanna running away for her life.

The opening scene starts off in 1914 with a French family, the LaPadites, working in their country home in until Nazi military cars show up. Hans Landa steps out of the vehicle to talk to the father, Perrier, and questioned him about Jewish families under protection in the area. Colonel Landa already knows that the LaPadites have Shoshanna’s family hidden in the house, but he plays around with Perrier all the same. Toward the end of the scene, he gives Perrier an option to give up the hidden family to spare his own, or he kills everyone in the house. Mr. LaPadite has no choice and sadly gives up the family leaving the general to bring in his guards to shoot the floorboards killing everyone but Shoshanna who manages to escape.

I believe the opening scene is considered a “hard opening” because of its suspense and the final impact. The colonel only slightly reveals that he already knows that the LaPadites are hiding the family, but throughout the scene one is still hoping that Perrier will pull off the lies. The viewer also feels mixed emotions in this one scene. Feeling saddened by the Dreyfus’ murder and that Shoshanna lost her loved ones, but relieved that at least she was able to escape. Feeling good about Perrier’s valiant attempts to save the Dreyfuses and feeling horrible about Perrier’s tough position and his final, inevitable betrayal of the family. Lastly, feeling anger and hate toward Colonel Landa and his disgusting actions, but feeling impressed by his cunning and intelligence.

Opening scene videos in order:

  1. https://vimeo.com/80494528
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfSjs_6MZOQ
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUZv6bn7Hwg

 

Homework

Homework #2: The Italian Job (1969)

Leave a comment

 

The Italian Job (1969)

The Italian Job is one of the most memorable openings to a movie I have seen.  In short, they destroy a Lamborghini Miura. What is really interesting about it is the composition of camera shots and the surprise that comes when it crashes. The camera shots for the first minute or two are accompanied by lovely music and shots that indicate not even a touch of danger. The opening credits roll in and we start to see from inside of the car. Personifying the person inside, not as good or bad yet, but as on their way to a meeting. A person of wealth on their way to a meeting. Credits continue to roll in and we see out the front of the car, the driver carving corners. Taking the racing line when safe but not a touch of danger in the Italian mountains. Then the driver goes into a tunnel, the music stops and the engine roars and echos in the tunnel. As the car fades into the darkness we get a sense that it may be going bad or we may just be fading to black. Then the tire screeches and the explosion. The Miura totaled. It would almost be a crime today to crash one but back in 1969 it was like crashing any modern sportscar. To top it off we see that not only was a crash but a setup as the bulldozer pulls the car out of the tunnel. The driver looks over to the man who clearly is the boss and then pushes the car over the edge of a cliff into a stream. We then see the car be torn apart and the men take off their hats in a statement of respect. Why does this stick with me? I’m not sure. Maybe its the elaborate plan it took to kill one person. Maybe its the fact that they destroy a cool car. I’m sure that the whole presentation of the scene and the prolonged surprise add to the effect. I enjoy the scene for its dynamic range from pleasant to horrible all in a matter of seconds and it never shows any death blood or gore on screen. The setup looks professional, maybe that is the point.

Homework, Student Posts

HW#2_Star Wars: The Force Awakens—–Hao H.——-

1 Comment

Opening of Star Wars the force awakens is quite an experience, not only is it memorable, it leaves an impact on how the movie will play out.The Resistance and The First Order are both after a map that led to Luke skywalks’ location. Pilot, Poe Dameron, was sent to the Jakku to recover the map piece from Lor San Tekka, but Kylo Ren and the First Order were close behind. As the stormtroopers attacked, Poe Dameron and gave the map piece to his droid BB-8, who fled into the desert. Kylo Ren had traveled to Jakku personally and laid siege to the village, executing everyone and taking Poe Dameron prisoner. From the beginning you have a sense of suspense that keeps building up, then the action takes place, a sense of rush goes down your spine as you see Poe Dameron gets captured. Looking at Kylo Ren stops the blaster bolt scene, right always you knew that this person was powerful from doing a simple movement to stop the blaster bolt: An energy beam was stopped mid air, it doesn’t get better then that; there was also a change in beat when Poe Dameron started to joke around while he was captured. It is exciting and amusing; the opening made it all happen.