Get Out

Image courtesy of Universal 

    A week ago in my Film 100 class we watched the film Get Out (2017) by Jordan Peele. I am not typically a fan of suspense or horror films, but the way this movie was directed, the script, and the acting really impressed me. I was entertained the entire movie as every line seemed to serve the overall plot. Plus, the mix between suspense and humor made some scenes memorable. Just a warning though, I will be discussing spoilers regarding the movie. So, for those who have not seen the movie yet and do not want spoilers I advice against reading on. 

    Anyways, the movie was basically about a man named Chris visiting his girlfriend Rose's family. Being an African-American, Chris is not sure how Rose's white family will react when they meet him. The family seems normal at first as the mother and father are somewhat welcoming of Chris, but the family has two housekeepers who are both African-American. When coming inside the house from smoking, Chris runs into Rose's mom who hypnotises Chris so he can stop smoking. Since that moment, Chris unwantingly dives deeper into the secrets behind Rose's family. All seems to start getting worse for him when he attends the family party Rose's family is hosting that weekend. During his experience, Chris stays connected with his friend, Rob, during this time as Rob watches over Chris' dog and apartment while he's staying with his girlfriend.

    One scene that really got to me was when the family decided to play bingo after Chris was attacked by Logan. All it took to get Logan off was the flash being on while Chris was taking a photo of him. Logan jumps at Chris demanding him to "Get Out!". To ease the situation, Rose and Chris went on a walk while the family plays bingo. Yet, this was not ordinary bingo. First of all, every bingo sheet had bingo on it and people were raising their sheets like they were at an auction. Secondly, Rose's dad was standing next to a large image of Chris while displaying numbers using his hands. With the camera widening to showcase the entire situation, the plot of the movie became clear to me. What the director, Peele, did further to make this scene more memorable was making the setting and clothung choices dark colors. The chairs, picture stand, and gazebo were all black. Furthermore, everyone in the scene wore at least one black article of clothing. The expressions of the people seemed professional despit them supposedly being family. As a whole, this scene opened my eyes to the fact that Chris was being raffled off. Considering the housekeepers and Logan all seemed weirds as though they had been hypnotized, it appeared that the mother hypnotizes people of color and they auction them off. The clarity within this scene is what made my jaw drop, as all of a sudden everything was coming together. But despite that, what I figured the ending would be turned out to be completely different. 

Image courtesy of Universal 

    Now, I'm not going to give away the ending. I'm just going to end off this week's blog post describing the mise-en-scène of this movie. This movie really played around with connecting themes, forshadowing, lighting, camera angles, and a specific color sceme. A lot of dark colors, mostly browns and blacks, are seen throughout the movie, especially furniture and the characters' clothing. There are a lot of closeup camera angles whith the characters too, especially during important scenes. Furthermore, either natural light or a yellowish omnious lighting is used besides from during the really important spooky scenes. During the really spooky scenes, such as when Rose's mother hypotises Chris, the lighting has a low-key affect to it. As for foreshadowing and connecting themes, I may spoil the movie too much if I start explaining those, but I found the connection between the deer and Chris to be rather interesting. The relationship is so suttle, but once understood it explains the movie well. With everything Peele put into this movie, this is a movie I will not forget for a while. I highly reccomend this film to anyone, even those who are not a fan of suspense as Rob provides great comedy during the film to help keep it light. Also, I wonder what other pieces of information I would pick up on if I rewatched the film. So, for those who have already seen this movie I reccomend you rewatch it to enjoy the setting a bit more and take in any details you might have missed prior. 

Chapter 5

    This week in our Film 100 class we watched the movie Get Out, which I will be discussing during my next blog post, and we were assigned to read Chapter 5 in our book, Moving Pictures: An Introduction to Cinema. The topic of Chapter 5 is Cinematography, which is one of the most important parts of how cinema works. I've heard the word used before, but I never truly understood what it meant until I read the chapter. All I knew before was that cinema is an abbreviation for cinematography. 

    There is a lot of information discussed in Chapter 5 that I can go over in this blog post because there is more to cinematography than what meets the eye. The cinematographer, also knows as the director of photography since they oversee how a mise-en-scéne is captured in a film through each frame, has a whole team working for them. As a whole, the entire team, mostly the cinematographer, has to take the following into consideration: the recording medium, colors, lighting, lens type, composition, camera movement, the length of takes, and more. I could go on to discuss all of this information, but the blog post would be too long at that point. So, to keep it shorter and be able to dive deep into one particular subject I am choosing to discuss the recording medium during this blog post.

    There are two different recording mediums a cinematographer can choose from, digital and film. Honestly, I did not know a cinematographer could still choose to make a film using a physical film stock. Nor was I aware that using physical film stock has advantages compared to digital. Despite being more expensive due to strips being charged per foot, the look of a film that was produced using film stock is more organic and natural compared to digital. On the other hand, digital allows for more filming that is at a higher frame rate. Older movies used to have a motion blur inbewteen frames to help the movie flow more smoothly, but at a higher frame rate this is no longer needed which improves the resolution of the movie itself. Now, film viewer can find themselves in new and highly detailed locations, providing them with an amazing cinematic experience.

    This is just a short summary in my opinion of what I understood from the book. Personally, I cannot say exactly which I prefer as I have only worked with digital filming before. As cameras have increased in resolution over the years, even cameras on phones can take highly detailed photos and videos. In my animation class, a project we had to do with a group was creating a stop motion animation. Based on what we had decided for our project, one group member was in charge of the background, one was in charge of shooting each image and editing, and I was in charge of building a character from clay and moving them and the props around. Making my other animations digitally was a lot easier due to the tools located in the software that allowed be to edit character movement, actions, and control other factors in the app. For this stop motion animation project, each frame had to be set up individually with previous actions in mind in order to make it difficult to create. In the end, I'd say it was worth it though. 

Marie Antoinette

    

Image courtesy of 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries

    The film we viewed in my Film 100 class last week was Marie Antoinette (2006) directed by Sofia Coppola. Before I go into detail regarding my feelings about this film, I'd like to give a warning as I will be discussing spoilers. So for those who haven't seen the film and do not want spoilers then I advice you from reading on. 

    Honestly, I did not love nor hate the film's narrative. Not being much of a history person, I couldn't connect with what was going on. Part of which I'm sure was due to the fact that I approached this film unaware of who Marie Antoinette really was. All that I knew before this film was that she got her head chopped off during the French Revolution because she was greedy and said "Let them eat cake". Not having much of an interest in Marie or her life made the film not as impactful. Regardless, I believe the directing was still good and the film had its moments. 

    I'm mostly impressed on how the film was able to change my opinion on Marie Antoinette. I'm curious if that was the purpose of the film. What started off as a negative opinion on Marie as an individual changed to become feelings of pity. Marie was expected to give up her childhood, home, and the ways of her old country for the duties of being a queen in France, which made me realize why she behaved with the desire to ignore her problems and why she did not have a true grasp on money. Yet, it was not only just the knowledge of her true story that changed my opinion but the way the character was portrayed. Played by actor Kristen Dunst, Marie behaved quite similar to a young woman who is just trying to figure out life. She learned from the girls her age, liked having fine things, wanted independence, and did not want to face her responsibilities. In ways, I could relate to her character which made her more human to me.

    Another aspect of that film that I was intrigued by was the mise en scène. Sofia Coppola had her own directive touches that added to the film, such as the pop music playing throughout the movie. I did not expect to hear modern songs in a film about a girl who lives during the late 1700s. Also, most of the sets and costumes were busy and highlighted the wealth of the royals during that time. Furthermore, I noticed that the colors pink and blue contrasted a lot in the movie. Blue was used in moments of Marie fulfilling her duties while pink was used in scenes when Marie was more frivalous. Lastly, the lighting within each scene paired well with the theme and emotion Coppola was going for. In scenes where Marie was sad or trapped, the setting was dark. On the other hand, when Marie felt free the setting was bright and sometimes she was even frolicking outside. 

    One critisism I have is that there did not seem to be a climax within the film, it just ended quickly. One moment she was living her best life and the next there were people with torches standing outside the castle. I believe this was meant to reflect how quickly things can happen in life, but the balance between trying to keep some scenes realistic and others exaggerating was not executed properly. Also, I believe some scenes were too busy, such as the image above. Nonetheless, I'm glad that Coppola chose to leave out Marie loosing her head as that would of broke my heart. 

Looking Out

    

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

    Recently in our Film 100 class we watched the movie Rear Window (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock. The movie was about a photographer, named Jeff, who injures his leg during a photoshoot. While recovering, he watches out his apartment window and spies on his neighbors. When one night he believes he witnesses a murder, he alerts his friend, a detective, who looks into Jeff's evidence. Jeff's girlfriend, Lisa, is involved in this case as well as she is not only curious after watching the strange actions of Jeff's neighbor, but she also wants to get closer to Jeff. Lisa is completely in love with Jeff, but being a wealthy woman Jeff believes she is too good for him and is unfit for his lifestyle. Being a photographer, Jeff not only does not have a lot of money, but he also travels a lot for work. 

   The prior paragraph is an explanation of the film dives that into the explicit theme of the film. Implicitly, Alfred Hitchcock explores ethics, relationships, and social classes throughout this film, as the photographer becomes engrossed by observing the lives of his neighbors. For this blog post I will be focusing on the theme of relationships.

    Even though Jeff's relationship with Lisa is the relationship that is the most focused on in the film, through the lives of Jeff's neighbors the viewers are shown other examples. Throughout the film we, the viewers, are introduced to three different generic couples. One couple who sleeps outside of their apartment in their fire escape, a newly wed couple who moved into an apartment together, and the Thorwalds. The Thorwalds are a seemingly unhappy couple, as the wife is ill and the husband goes to work and then comes home and takes care of her. Unfortunately, Mr. Thorwald is Jeff's main suspect for the death of Mrs. Thorward when one day Jeff notices that she is gone and Mr. Thorwald starts behaving strangly. Their relationship shows a gruesome take on the idea of a generic couple, as Thorwald questioned the idea that marriages lead to lifelong happiness. 

    This idea is further questioned by four single characters. Miss Lonelyhearts is a woman who despiratly wants a relationship to the point where she is pretends to have dinner with an invisible man. Miss Torso, on the other hand, is very beautiful and popular with men but she never has a lasting relationship with any of them. Ross is a songwritter who is typically seen playing his piano. He seems to have a lot of connections as in one scene he throws a party for those who are in a higher social class. Yet, he also has scenes of frustration when he returns home drunk, which showcase that in his life he faces some problems. Lastly, there's Miss Hearing Aid who is a artist who is either seen sleeping outside or carving a sculpture. All of these characters show individual parts of the overall theme of dealing with not having relationships, representing those who turn to fantasy, take on hobbies, or host parties or gatherings to cope. 

    Overall, what Hitcock seems to display is that people need company in their lives. The desire for company and finding that certain someone is important and normal. Yet, it is a bumpy journey that comes with loneliness and sadness. Furthermore, there is no right person as sometimes relationships do not work out. What helps is to surround yourself with good people who care and the rest will fall into play.  

Chapter 2

    Within Chapter two of our class textbook, Moving Pictures: An Introduction to Cinema, the information I've learned a lot of new information. What facinated me the most was that movies are 24 or more frames per second. The reason that knowledge piqued my interest was because this is something I should've pieced together sooner. As I've already discussed in my introduction blog, not only do I love animations, but I know how to make them as well. Part of knowing how to make animations is understanding the process and lingo, which is where I first learned about the term FPS, or frames per second. Animations are made frame by frame and then played either fast or slow based on the FPS the artist chooses. Typically my animations are 15 fps, as that is what I learned to use in my animation class. 

    Considering animations typically consist of drawings while movies are made using video cameras, I assumed that movies did not consist of individual frames. Yet, if played at a fast speed, an animation can flow smoothly as though it was filmed. Not only that, but under the photo app when one plays a video, it is a flowing line of individual shots. Although this does not change the way I view movies and TV shows, it confuses my brain. For example, this video of a hungry caterpillar that I recorded consists of individual shots as shown in the screenshot below.

   

    Some other information that intriged me was explicit vs implicit meaning. Explicit meaning is the obvious meaning of a film, painting, etc. It's what the viewer sees, and is intended to be obvious. Implicit meaning, on the other hand, is the hidden meaning behind a film or a piece of art. Another term for implicit meaning is the theme. 

    When creating film, directors typically have a specific theme in mind that they are going to. In my Visual Writting class, we are learning that viewers make meaning when it comes to art. So, I wonder if that same logic applies to films as well. Everyone has their own perceptions on things, meaning one person can see a film and think one way while someone else may see it a different way. Therefore, is implicit meaning determined by the viewer?

Unity

    For this week's blog reflection, we were instructed to answer a few questions regarding our favorite movie scene. The most impactful scene, in my opinion, is final battle scene in the movie Advengers: Endgame. For those who do not know about the Marvel cinematic universe, it is a series of movies about superheros  that all take place in the same universe. In the movie Advengers: Endgame, the main group of heroes, who are called the Advengers, have to find a way to restore their world after half of the world's entire population vinishes due to the actions of Thanos, the main villain. Just a warning for those who haven't seen the movie yet, I will be giving away important spoilers. So, if you don't want the climax and ending spoiled for you I'd suggest you do not read on or you watch the movie first and then continue reading. 

    The final battle scene is impactful because it contains a lot of pathos. When the villians seem to have the upperhand, all of a sudden almost every Marvel character in the MCU shows up to aid the Advengers. Each main character got a frame to appeal to the audience before the camera angle becomes a wide shot of all of them together. A heroic and energetic non-diegetic sound plays during this scene and continues into the battle between the heros and villians. All together, this scene creates a sense of empowerment and unity. 

    If this scene were done differently, it would've consisted of using shots of different groups. The wide shot of everyone together would've not been included. What was done in the movie was unexpected, and amazing. If I were the director, I would not have changed it. I do not have the expertise to improve upon the scene, only the perspective of a viewer. As a viewer, I thought it was an incredible and emotional experience. 

Image courtesy of MARVEL

Introductory Post

    Hello peeps and welcome to my Film 100 blog! I'm Maddy Baggio, a sophomore at North Central College. Now, you might be wondering how I ended up in this Film 100 class. The truth is, out of all the other Gen-Ed classes I could've taken, this one seemed the most interesting. It is just a bonus that I like watching films in general. Furthermore, I might learn some knowledge in this class that could help me with my future job, which is Graphic Design. 

    My favorite films are typically animated films. For example, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots are two recently made animated films that made their way onto my list of favorites. I've always found animated films to be inspirational for how well the artists behind the film bring the story and their characters to life. Animating character movements, special effects, character expressions and moods, as well as designing characters that audiences can relate to or have some sort of emotion for takes a lot of dedication, time, and talent. The two animated movies I listed above are some of my favorites because of how well the characters were designed along with how much detail was put into each scene in both movies art-wise. Part of what makes a successful animated movie, besides the art, is the writing. Although that applies for my entire list of favorite movies, including non-animated movies. 

    The best movies in my opinion, are those that have understandable plots that include a well-proportioned mix of humor, heart-aching moments, and good morals. The two movies above along with The Barbie Movie and some others on my list of favorites were able to sway my emotions with their quality writing. For each movie I had moments where I was on the edge of my seat, crying, laughing, or feeling motivated. I watch movies to learn about how films drive emotion so that I can apply that knowledge to my art. My dream is to create graphics or animations in my future that sway viewers using pathos the same way that some movies do. One of the first animation's I created I attached above as an example of my current progress with my goal thus far. As most movies have a description, the story above is about a little plant guy named Herby who experiences a nightmare before Christmas. I apologize that it's not even close to the holidays, but according to craft and decor stores everywhere in the United States, it's Christmas year-round.