Spotlight Lectures

Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro

A lot of the context of this film was historical and political, the historical context was the Spanish civil war and this is also the political context as it showed the right wing government acting pretty much evil and the left wing rebellion who were good.

I think in his work is very weird but also quite clever as although the mix of brutal historic war and mythical/magical/dark fantasy/fairy tale is very weird, he did it very well. However the film did focus a lot on the civil war when the film is called pans labyrinth so I thought it would be more mythical.

He used real world as well so it’s not like the whole film was complete fantasy as the war actually happened and that’s actual reality however there is fantasy mixed with it. This made it like Ofeila had to complete her tasks while being against the government and the monster.

The film started off being quite colourful but then it got darker and had a blue/grey sort of colour to it and it also had a sort of green colour to it. A lot of the fairy tale stuff had a sort of orange, gold, bronze and brown colour to it such as under the tree where the frog lived, the place where the monster lived and at the end where Ophelia saw her mother and her father.

I can take influence from this by how they make the reality also seem very dark when they make the colour dark. The captain’s bedroom was also a very dark room and sort of shows it as an evil lair which links to the fantasy and fairy tale side of the story. The captain is also shown as very sinister how he’s always shaving with his razor and even holds it up to his throat at one point, I could take this and see how I could make characters seem dark from small subtle things.

Hot Fuzz by Edgar Wright

His work is very dark however it is made very comical so a lot of people don't see it as dark. If there was no comedy in hot fuzz then the film would be probably quite boring and seen as a lot darker however as there is comedy it makes the film a lot more entertaining than if it didn't have comedy.

Edgar Wright takes mundane things and finds new ways to do the. Everything is intriguing, interesting and not boring. He uses sudden dramatic lighting, camera movement, things and people entering and leaving the shot and frames in funny or different ways to usual.

"Every Frame a Painting" says that Edgar Wright's approach is very creative and you can do whatever you want.

He often uses a lot of camera angles in a small amount of time. Quite fast, action transitions.

Edgar Wright uses camera shots and angles to deliver to visually deliver comedy which doesn't often happen in other comedies.

From Edgar Wright I can learn to use intruiging camera angles. Use the angles and shots to your advantage when filming a humourous film as they can help deliver the jokes. He uses different action shots even when they're not really needed however, this emphasises whats happening, makes it more intersting, more intruiguing and more entertaining.

Trainspotting by Danny Boyle

The film is about heroine addicts, with the main character being Renton trying to change his ways.

Renton is the narrative of the story so pretty much he tells the story.

How does it use flashback, voice over, dreams, nightmares? Voiceovers are used as Renton is the narrative of the story, nightmares when Renton was in his childhood bedroom in bed and he kept seeing people. Flashbacks when tommy dies, they use this to emphasise the reason he died (contracting HIV from sharing a dirty needle) and where he died. It also shows one of the many reasons why heroine is bad. Flashbacks are also used at the very beginning of the film when they're running from people because about halfway through the film this scene reappears so we understand it.

How is music used to add to the story? How does it change the atmosphere? Music helps create emotion or emphasise what is happening. When Renton is in his bed in his childhood bedroom and is having nighmares to make the scene much more chaotic the music is fast paced, loud and repetative which makes the scene very chaotic and uncomforting as the music just wont stop and Renton can't relax.

When Renton is dying after taking a hit of heroin they used framing where he has sunk into the carpet and when you see what he's seeing you can see thecarpet around his view as though he is still sinking in it, this is also symmetry.

It can be descibed as a black comedy as although the film as some disgusting grim parts a lot of these parts are funny and comical so instead of it just being dark it is comical aswell making it a dark comedy.

I can learn from Danny Boyle in making darkly humorous films that you can find humour in a lot of things however you have to do it well otherwise people may just find things disgusting or really depressing and not see the humour your trying show in it. I can use his influence in shooting and editing to emphasise something for example, when Renton sinks into the carpet this emphasises he is dying. I could also use music the way he uses it in my own work to emphasise something.

Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is a film about a boy called Donnie Darko who keeps being visited by figure called Frank who only he can see who could be a time traveler who is telling him something is going to happen in 28 days and is telling Donnie to do things such as flood his school. His therapist thinks he is schizophrenic.

Donnie Darko is the narrative of the story however he isn't actually the narrators there isn't one. Frank (the time traveller) is also part of the narrative although not as much as Donnie.

Music is used to add to the story as Donnie Darko is a weird, mysterious film andthe music emphasises this and adds to the idea that it is mysteriousas a lot of the music is mysterious.

It uses framing and symmetry in the bathroom scenes when Donnie is central in the screen and so is Frank, the sides of the screen are very simular and they are framed in the middle.

I can learn that when two people or things are speaking or communicating if they are in the middle of the screen this can create a good effect showing how face to face they are. In can also use music to empahsise how much something is something for example, how mysterious Donnie Darko is. I can use this in my own work.

Donnie is told that the world will end in 28 days by Frank and during this time Donnie is trying to figure out what's going to happen and is trying find out about time travel, Frank also tells Donnie to do things and Donnie tries to look after Gretchin. The plot is also that there could be an alternate dimention which is where Frank is from or travels from and that he time travels or travels between these dimentions as well. Donnie tries to figure this out during the film.

Donnie is a quite awkward person who see's things no one else can see which leads people on to thinking he has mental health illness's including schizaphrenia.

Gretchin is a girl who has had past traumas as her dad stabbed her mum and now her stepdad is bad however, we don't hear much about this. She is a friendly character although she is quite quiet and her and Donnie start going out.

Wes Anderson

In a lot of Wes Anderson's work a lot of the composition is symmetry so lot of his shots have things centred in the shot. This can also be seen as rule of thirds.

This can draw the viewer in and can also show the background off however as you can see in a few of his shots the background is just a plain colour often blue and the sky.

The colours he uses are often quite orange or around that area on the colour wheel. His films have colour schemes to them so the colours in his films usually stay the same throughout the films, obviously he doesn't just use the same colours throughout the whole film however you'll realise that there is a colour scheme in his films.

Wes Anderson uses framing in much of his work. It makes a shot seem quite simple but it is done very well. The shots are quite minimal but in the frames there is life. It sort of shows a story within the frame and outside the frame.

Wes Anderson uses windows for different reasons in his work the main reason obviously is framing. One of the other reasons is for something for people to escape out of.

Another reason is for when people draw their curtains and this is clever as it is like the end of a scene sort of like at the end of a film at the cinema or stage performance the curtain gets drawn halfway through or at the end.