Short Films to Analyze
A Journey to the West: A short film by Lawrence Chen
QUESTION: How is the story developed through images? What visual elements tell a story? A successful documentary from Africa by short from Spanish filmmaker, Diego Quemada-Diez, I Want To Be A Pilot tells the touching story of Omondi, who lives in Kibera, the biggest slum in Kenya, east Africa. In the form of a poem, written by the director, Omondi tells us how he dreams of flying away on one of the planes he sees in the skies above his township. It is perhaps not the most subtle documentary but it is effective, and the story ends with some unsettling truths.
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A Truncated Story of Infinity by Paul Trillo
QUESTION: How are character's developed? What is the role of sound? The Oscar-winning American born Kubrick is best known for his varied fiction feature films (The Shining, 2001, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Open) but he started out with two short documentaries, including Day Of The Fight. This short film displays much of the mastery he would use during his later career. It is perhaps most reminiscent of his hard-boiled, 1956 feature film, The Killing, which is itself a classic and a film that would help mould directors such as Quentin Tarantino.
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Montage
"A single pictorial composition made by juxtaposing or superimposing many pictures or designs." In filmmaking, a montage is an editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed in an often fast-paced fashion that compresses time and conveys a lot of information in a relatively short period.
This montage was created to examine the directorial choices and scene set up of Wes Anderson
Pretty Woman's montage illustrates a change in the protagonist's character arc. In the beginning, Vivian (Julia Roberts) is thrown into a new world - one filled with beautiful clothes and endless possibilities - yet we see her transform from a "fashion don't" prostitute into a real classy looking lady.
What does this montage reveal about character motivation and plot?
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Charlie Chaplin's best physical exercizes and scenes. How does he tell a story through expression?
A montage of Best Picture winners from 1928-2010. How many have you seen?
What sets this "rise to power" montage apart from its competition is how it incorporates foreshadowing. What is foreshadowed at the end of this scene?
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Movie Clips and Famous Scenes: What are the directors and writers revealing to the audience?
Shot-by-Shot Analysis
Doing a shot-by-shot analysis of a short sequence from a film is useful in training yourself to look closely at how films are constructed. It is a very common technique that can be used alongside watching the sequence with the sound off and listening to the sound alone without the image. It is particularly good for analysing the mise-en-scene and for noticing the links between the shots in a sequence. For two examples of guidelines for completing a shot-by-shot analysis see the advice given HERE and HERE. The video also gives you an idea of how to use this technique although notice that this example of more of a critique than an analysis. |
Michael Schmidt analyzes the parlor scene is Hitchcock's classic, Psycho. He begins with the following statement:
The scene begins with what appears to be an innocent invitation from Norman to Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), the unsuspecting guest at the Bates Motel, to come into "the parlor." The use of the word parlor--as in "'come into my parlor' said the spider to the fly"--establishes the tenor of the scene. The significance of this brief line becomes all the more apparent at the end of the film when Norman's "mother", who has by now consumed Norman's mind and soul, looks directly into the camera and says that "she" would not "even hurt a fly." The Opening Sequence
This is the opening titles sequence from the French film Mesrine. It includes very clever use of split screen, multiple camera angles and rack focus. Ther film tells the story of France's most infamous criminal of the last 20 years. |
Sound in Movies and film
Sound and music is carefully crafted and created by sound technicians and sound editors. Iconic sounds are often given names and trademarked or copyrighted. All sound for IB student films HAS to be created by the student.
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Analyze the following clips for SOUND
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