week6 scene analysis

 

Title; Lemony Snickets a series of unfortunate events

Year; 2004

Director; Brad Silberling

What did I appreciate? I’d have to say the visual effects which are enhanced by dramatic camera angles.

What didn’t I like? There wasn’t much to not like about this scene, though I did wonder about the relevance of the goose in the boat below the house.

What would I keep? There were some great camera angles as the house was disintegrating that I would keep.

What would I change? I wouldn’t have the goose in the boat but that’s because I didn’t get the reason for it being there.

Comments; After a couple of minutes watching the film I realised I’d seen it before – a few years ago. But I remember it being so good that I watched it all again. Being interested in visual effects and set design this film is fascinating for me.

1. Characters; This scene involves 3 of the main characters – the Boudelaire kids, Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken) and Sunny (Kara Hoffman). There is also a shot of Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep). Being recently orphaned and having been first sent to live with their uncle Olaf, who is trying to get their inheritance, they are now meant to live with their aunt Josephine. After being introduced to her and settling in, she takes the kids shopping in the village nearby. Whilst there they meet an old sailor, Captain Sham, who enchants Aunt Josephine and gets invited, by her, to dinner. The kids realise that captain Sham is really Olaf in disguise and try to warn Josephine but she won't listen to them. They are left alone to finish the shopping and when they return to the house find that Aunt Josephine is missing, having apparently committed suicide. In this scene the kids figure out that she is actually hiding in a secret cave. It also introduces the evidence that their parents, along with some of their relations, are part of a group that investigate the causes of tragic fires. And it highlights the lengths that Olaf will go to to get his hands on their inheritance - by getting rid of aunt Josephine the kids will be returned to him.

2. Setting; The scene is set consequentially in the timeline and is important to the story in that it continues the constant danger that seems to befall the children throughout the film. When they arrive at aunt Josephine’s we share their apprehension as they wait to meet her. It turns out that she is nice and that they might live there happily with her. At least this is what we hope will happen after their stay at Olaf’s. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen considering the setting – an old house, suspended on flimsy timber supports, at the edge of a cliff.

3. Mise-en-scene; includes a flashback of Klaus remembering the books he’s read regarding code breaking. A close –up of Klaus before and after this cut indicates that it’s his memory and reminds us of how clever he is. A get a visual indication of the impending catastrophe as the supporting timbers are shaking apart. we get a close-up of the nails (holding the timbers together) beginning to come loose. This adds to the tension and confirms the upcoming destruction. When the intensity of the storm increases there are references to Aunt  Josephine’s warnings from their arrival. Such as the possibility of the fridge ‘falling and crushing you flat’, the cooker ‘exploding’ and the door handle ‘shattering into a million pieces’. When Klaus is figuring out the code we see a light flickering in the background – a traditional effect used to indicate stormy weather. Overall the lighting is dark and dismal to suit the mood of this dramatic scene.

4. Camera work; The camera closes in on Klaus as he thinks about the books he has read about code-breaking, and it cuts to a close-ups of the words on the letter as he deciphers each one, this is effective as it brings the viewer through each step. . During this there’s a cut to a close-up of nails working their way out of the support timbers. Then we get a flashback of Aunt Josephine mentioning Curdle Cave – confirming their solution of the code.

This is followed by a close-up shot of the support timbers splitting apart and then a dramatic shot from underneath the house showing the precarious position they’re in as the timbers begin to give way and the whole house moves away from the cliff. The next shot is from inside the house – a wide-angle shot of the front entrance wall as the door bursts open, due to the force of the wind. This is followed by  an opposing view – from the centre of the main room – establishing Voilet and Klaus’ unsafe position in front of the large window. Violet then moves towards the camera, ending the shot with a close-up of her looking scared. This cuts to a single-point perspective shot of the entrance wall as the door flies through the air towards the pair, barely missing them and passing through the window at the point where they had been standing. This is followed by  close-up of the pair which then pans down to reveal Sunny sitting on the floor, looking in the direction of the office. The next shot shows Violets and Kluas’ faces as they too lokk into the office. Their faces are centre shot, framed by a blurred close-up of the papers on the office wall flapping in the wind. As Violet and Klaus enter the room we get a shot of photos hanging on string lines stretched between the walls showing various buildings on fire. The photos are constantly moving due to the wind and therefore move in and out of focus. Other paperwork is floating around on the wind and we get a shot of Klaus catching one as it blows past him. We then get a close-up shot of this page which reveals a drawing of a window which is relevant later in the film. There then follows a series of dramatic shots as the building begins to disintegrate. These are all wide-angle shots that establish the extent of the destruction and heighten the danger. There is a camera shake – to indicate the force involved - as half of the house collapses into the sea. The camera view point then switches to a shot of the entrance wall establishing the fridge next to the front door. This is a single-point perspective shot and is effective when the fridge begins to slide towards the camera –their viewpoint. The camera then cuts to a close-up of them that establishes their precarious position near the edge of the gaping hole. There are a series of cuts between the frige and the kids as it slides towards them, one shot zooms in on Sunny’s face, showing her to be unconcerned or maybe innocent of the danger. Then we get a series of dutch tilt shots as the kids make their way towards the entrance. This tilt adds to our perception of the whole house tilting towards the sea. This is followed by a continuous stream of shots, both close-up and wide-angle, that show various dramatic angles and threats. We see the cooker sliding towards them – on fire – and then the camera cuts to a low-angle shot from underneath the floor, through a hole made by the cooker as it falls through, showing the kids alarmed faces framed by the edges of the hole. We then get a wide-angle shot at sea level of a goose in a boat situated directly under the house, as the cooker plunges into the sea just clipping the back of the boat and sending the goose flying of its perch. Then the camera shows a close-up of the kids as they spot another danger. The next shot indicates this danger with a close-up of the burning gas pipe, no longer connected to the cooker, swinging around uncontrollably. The camera then zooms in slowly as the flame steadies beside the nearby door handle and heats it up. This is followed by a close-up of the handle reddening. In this shot the kids can be seen in the background – which is blurred, and they gradually come in to focus – indicating that they realise the danger from the hot handle. Then it cuts to a close-up of the handle from their view point, followed by a zoom towards their faces just before it explodes from the heat. This is followed by a close-up of them lying on the floor face-down, which leads to an overhead shot that includes various objects flying around in the wind. This shot indicated that they’re shielding their eyes and leads to the next shot that reveals their new predicament. The camera switches back to the close-up of them face-down on the floor and as Klaus lifts his head to survey the damage we get the final shot which is of the camera zooming out gradually to a wide-angle establishing shot which reveals them, marooned on a separated section of flooring, the rest of the house and its setting i.e. cliffs and sea.

5. Sound and Music; For the first minute the background music is lively and fast. Orchestral style the deep tones of the stringed instruments add to the tension in a similar way to traditional thriller type music. There is a more subdued almost haunting tone preceding the houses destruction. The music then stops to allow the sound effects of the destruction to take over until the final shot where the music is reintroduced as the camera zooms out slowly. The sound effects are slightly louder to compensate for the loudness of the background wind noise and to add to the overall drama of the situation.

 

This is an updated version of the animation short animatic. It would have been ready for the presentation on 19/03 but I had mistakenly copied older versions of the first and last scenes from my laptop and so I had to use them on the day. I've since added the later versions - not much different apart from the audio and some red colour to indicate the exploded buffalos remains. I felt this was needed to show why the cub is licking Leroy in the final scene. I had also changed the snapping twig noise near the start into a fart sound - this allowed me to introduce the rumbling stomach sounds from the start, and to hopefully add a bit of mystery as to who or what is making this noise, as we don't see the character yet.

Film Title; Ecstasy

 

Director; Gustav Machaty & Frantisek Horky

Year; 1933

1. Characters; the main characters are Emil – the betrayed husband, and Adam – his wife’s lover. There are a few extras in the scene, some kids at the start. They seem to be children of the road workers and are so poor that they gather around Emil’s car to beg him for money. There are also some locals on the road as the car speeds along but they might not actually be supposed to be there.

Emil obviously has the higher status for most of the scene. He is Adams boss and his status is confirmed at the start when Adam fetches him a glass of water. He also appears aloof, ignoring the kids as if they weren’t there. He also has the advantage of knowing (about the affair) while Adam doesn’t know that Emil is Eva’s husband. The status switches though at the end when Emil loses his nerve at the last minute by stopping the car before it collides with the train. In this scene Emil doesn’t get what he wants, which is revenge, even though it would mean killing them both.

With regards to the casting I think both characters suited their roles. Adam – Aribert Mog – a handsome, strong, young man who is a complete opposite to Emil – Zvonimir Rogoz – who is much older than his wife, set in his ways, a touch of ocd and apart from being wealthy, he offers nothing else to his wife.

2. Setting; this scene takes place sequentially on the timeline and serves to introduce us to the fact that Emil and Adam are acquainted – even more surprising is the fact that Emil is Adams boss. It also reveals – through Adam openly holding Eva’s necklace – that Emil is now aware that she is having an affair, and who with. It gives him an opportunity to get revenge by crashing the car into the train at the level crossing, but he cannot go through with it.

3. Mise-en-scene; at the start we see two workmen, carrying a log on their shoulders, walking across the shot very close to the camera. They are out of focus and indicate that the construction activities are of secondary importance. that Emil is the centre of attention. There is a close-up shot of Emil drinking the water – shot from his right side – which then switches to a view from his left side that includes Adam. This angle allows us to see Adam taking the necklace from his pocket while Emil is still facing forwards, drinking, as yet unaware. It’s only when the camera cuts back to the previous angle and Adam takes the glass from Emil, that we see the realisation on Emil’s face. While they’re in the car the background is out of focus. Adam is again shown holding the necklace. There are a few close-ups of Emil’s hands on the steering wheel, which can be seen vibrating – indicating the high speed. We also get a close-up, tilted, blurred view of the trees as the car drives past them, another indication of the cars speed.

4. Camera work; The opening shot is a wide-angle establishing shot that captures the work hut, the car, the setting/landscape and the passing workers in the foreground. This is followed by a close-up shot of the car from the opposite side as Adam gives Emil the glass of water. This cuts to a close-up of Emil drinking – from the same perspective. The view then switches to the opposite side to include Adam though still remaining a close-up. This shot is necessary to reveal that Adam has the necklace, and his openness with it indicates that he is unaware that Eva is Emil’s wife. The camera then returns to the close-up of the car seen previously as Adam gets in for their journey. This is followed by a slow pan right to left which tracks the car as they depart. The next view point is from the cars bonnet – close-ups of the pair with cuts to each man in turn i.e. when Adam speaks and when Emil doesn’t respond but used to emphasise his emotion. There is also a shot from their perspective when the car swerves around a horse and cart and barely avoids an oncoming car. This highlights Emils erratic driving. This is also indicated by some close-ups of Emils hands on the steering wheel. Some tilted close-ups of the trees and side bollards might have been speeded up to portray the excessive speed. As they approach the level crossing the close-ups to each man become closer still, to indicate the heightened tension and danger. The camera then cuts to a view of the train tracks – a high-angle shot from the moving train. This mirrors the speeding car and indicates that they’re on course for a collision. This is followed by a similar high-angle shot of the cars front wheel and the road. The camera then zooms in on the level crossing barrier, another indication of a possible collision. This is followed by a close-up of each mans face – Emil looking determined and Adam looking worried. Then at the last second we get a high-angle shot of the cars front wheel stopping when Emil brakes. Then it cuts to a dutch-tilt close-up of the train thundering past. Then it cuts to a low-angle close-up shot, from underneath the steering wheel, of Emils face – highlighting his emotional state. This is followed by a close-up of the trains wheels as it stops. Then it cuts to a ¾ view close-up of Emils face followed by a cut to part of the train – brakes? - with the steam pressure being released. Finally we get a very close-up shot of Emils face looking possibly relieved? The previous shot mirroring his own emotional tension being released.

5. Sound and music; There is background orchestral music which seems to change according to the characters emotions. At the start when we see Adam, who is in a happy mood, the music is lively and pleasant. When we see the realisation in Emil’s face the tone becomes deeper and slower, highlighting his sadness/disappointment. It returns to being lively and pleasant as they set off on their journey. As we realise that Emil is driving faster and faster the music also gets faster and louder – more dramatic. It helps to build up the tension as the impending collision approaches. After the car stops and the train passes the camera focuses on Emil and the music again becomes slow and melancholic to enhance his sadness/disappointment. The music was definitely written for the film and like most silent movies is used to enhance the viewer’s emotional response.

What did I appreciate? I think the tone of this scene is interesting. There is a sense of danger created by the fact that Emil has discovered that Adam has his wife’s necklace, and rather than confront him about it, he puts them both in danger by speeding in his car towards a level crossing.

What didn’t I like about it? I think the background sound let it down, in particular the cars engine. I noticed that the engine speed (sound) didn’t increase even though the car speed appeared to.

What would I keep? I liked the way he had to swerve out of the way of an oncoming car when passing the horse and cart. You could see that this surprised Adam. This leads on to what I would change. I think I would add one or two more near misses so that it’s more obvious to Adam that something’s wrong.

Other comments; Even though there was some talking in the film it was still relatively easy to follow the plot without dialogue. A fairly simple story with both a happy and a sad ending – I guess there’s a moral in there somewhere.

 

I tried to do a bit more work on my clay lion and discovered a flaw in my plan.

 

 

A new design for the buffalo's horns - more like the real thing. Yes I know they're blue. This was going to be used to make a plaster mould so that I could make the horns from hot glue, for strength and stability, as the lion has to swing on them. I've since decided to use Fimo clay which can be set hard in an oven. It turns out that Fimo clay is fairly expensive. You can see from the Biro placed in the images above how big the horns are and so I bought some Fimo clay - just enough to do this. It was only when I was about to start that I remembered that if the lion has to swing on the horns it will be usefull if he can be secured to them during filming. This means that the horns can't be solid and will have to be made from regular newplast, fitted with an armature. Each mistake makes you realise how important planning ahead is, especially when it costs money.

 

Fitted a tail to the lion since my last post. I used the thin wire doubled up and drilled a hole in the body for one end, which was then just glued in place. I had read somewhere that its a good idea to cover armatures with cling film before applying the clay. That's easier said than done. Especially when parts are spinning around while your doing this. I've used plastic rawl plugs to sleeve the wire used on the legs, for stability - the wire can only bend at the joints as opposed to anywhere on the leg. The trouble with this idea is that the wire is much thinner than the centre hole which means that the rawl plug section tend to spin around easily. So you can imagine the fun I had trying to put cling film on the rawl plug sections while they kept moving. I ended up with such a mess that I had to use selotape to tidy everything up.

 

I was eventually ready to start adding clay

 

I flattened out small sections which I pressed onto the body

 

The seams could then be pressed together

 

The body is already looking a lot bigger than I had intended - which will mean increasing the size of everything else

 

It was when I started applying clay to the legs that I discovered the flaw in this design.

 

I had thought that the spinning problem would be solved when I added clay but it was still happening. In the end I had to remove the clay - and half of the cling film - from the legs, and glue each section of plastic to the armature.

 

It now looks fairly messy but at least the problem is sorted. I also cut about 5mm off each section of rawl plug to keep the size down. It's still fairly big and I'm beginning to wonder if I should build a smaller armature - considering that he has to fit under the front of the buffalo when he rubs his buttocks against it's legs. Anyway for now I'm going to add fresh clay to the legs and see how he looks.

Week 4 Scene analysis

 

Film title; Forbidden Planet

Director; Fred McLeod Wilcox

Year; 1956

1. Characters; The characters in this scene are all main characters throughout the movie. Morbius – played by Walter Pidgeon was the commander of a previous landing and that landing is the reason that Commander Adams – Leslie Nielsen – and his crew have landed on the planet, to discover what happened to the previous ship and its crew. Altaira is Morbius’ daughter who was born and raised on the planet by her father. All the other people on their ship died shortly after landing which meant she had no contact with other humans until Adams’ ship arrived. ‘Robby’ the robot was built by Morbius shortly after landing on the planet, to provide, protect and serve. His only flaw is his pre-programmed inability to harm humans. The invisible monster is created by Morbius’ alter ego or inner demon, through some sort of telepathic energy.

This monster had killed all the original ships crew, apart from Altaira’s mother – who died of natural causes – and has begun killing the crew of Adams ship. Adams has figured this out and is trying to convince Morbius  of this before it kills them too.

Adams has the higher status in this scene by making it clear to Morbius that he is the cause if the danger, and also by declaring that he will take his daughter away from him and back to earth.

With regard to the casting, Morbius looks quite similar to ‘Ming the merciless’ from the Flash Gordon series whether that was intentional or not is debatable, but he certainly looks like a suspicious character. Nielsen as Commander Adams is a good choice as he has a natural ‘Alpha male’ characteristic suitable to such roles.

2. Setting; The scenes in this movie run sequentially to the timeline and so this scene is suitably set where it is. It is important to the story and helps in bringing it to its conclusion. It also heightens the tension and drama as Morbius is forced to face the reality of his ‘monster’.

3. Mise-en-scene; Most notable at the start of this scene is that Robby the robot and Altaira stay in the background as Adams is confronting Morbius. The lighting is also centred on Morbius and Adams, with Robby and Altaira both in shadow. When they become involved in the scene they each move out from the shadows and into the light. When Morbius, Altaira and Adams are hiding they are in shadow, which is an instinctive thing to do as you’re harder to see. This is a typical way to portray characters ‘hiding’, without having to show their pursuer. It also highlights their fear and impending danger.

4. Camera work; The scene starts with a close-up of Adams as he’s talking to Murbius, panning down slowly with his movement. It then cuts back a little to include Morbius in the shot, though not too far back ensuring that they remain the focus of the shot. When Adams moves off-centre to the left of the shot, Robby enters the shot from the right – giving a balance of movement to both sides. The camera remains still until Morbius stands and takes a few steps, as the camera pans slowly Altaira enters the shot in the background. The group are now centred in the shot but with the speaking pair in the foreground and the silent paor in the background. Although we don’t see the ‘monsters’ approach his presence in the form of falling trees etc. is focused in the centre of the shot. There is a slight blur of focus, and a little shake, as the three run back from the window and into the shadows. The shot of the monster trying to break through the shutter is focused on the centre of the shot with the action framed by the green ornament. There is a group close-up of the three while their in hiding which then cuts to a ¾ angle view that includes Robby when his assistance is required. It then cuts to a close-up of Robby – centre frame – as he tries to defend them. The camera then cuts back to the ¾ view as the three run out of shot – to escape – and the monster breaking through the shutter remains in shot. The three then make their way down a series of corridors which are wide-angle single-point perspective shots that pan slightly as they move off-centre.

The close-up shots when the characters speak, centres our focus on the dialogue. Whereas the wide angle shots, while they might include dialogue, are used mainly when the action included is important to the story. There are no unusual shots/angles in this scene but this might be more to do with the date it was made.

5. Sounds and Music; The background music starts after about a minute into the scene – in time with when Morbius and Adams’ conversation is interrupted by Robby. Typical of sci-fi movies from that era it consists of reverberating synthesised noises similar to the sounds made when tuning in to a station on a transistor radio. The noise made by Robby’s defence system is also typical of an electronic crackling sound but for the time I imagine it was suitable.

What did I appreciate about this scene? I think I was most interested in the visual effects. The impression of the invisible monsters approach, created by the moving shrubs and falling trees. The steel shutters slamming closed at lightning speed and the way that the steel - of the shutter the monster broke through - was seemingly peeled open by this invisible creature.

What I didn’t like about the scene was the background audio. Personally it was a bit like Chinese water torture. Obviously that sort of ‘space ship’ sound effect is necessary but to me it was just annoying and distracting.

I would definitely keep the visuals of the monster approaching through the undergrowth. I know they’re laughable by today’s standards but for that time (50’s) they demonstrate the creativity and inventiveness of the effects team when you consider the limited resources available to them.

I would have to change the background audio. While it is suitable I think it might work better at a lower level. It seems to reverberate at a certain high pitch that wouldn’t be as distracting if toned down.

Comments; I think this film still has a certain amount of charm, even by today’s standards. It has all the ingredients for a successful story and while the acting, sets and props might not be the best, they seem to combine well and complement each other.

 

 

 

This is how the animatic looks so far. There's still a bit of music to add and a few more sounds but it should give the gist of it. The animation itself will be stop-motion using clay figures on a 3D hand-built set. I chose to use clay nation for this story as it's familiar to the target audience - kids - when portraying talking animals.

I have been working on building my lion character since my last post. Now I never thought I'd say this - or in this case write this - but I'm going to show you my balls. That's right - balls. Balls that I made as part of the armature for the lion. You might remember from my previous post that the modelling clay can be heavy and cause a model to overbalance, so I've been working on ways to cut down on the amount of clay. One way to do this is to bulk-out the figure before applying the clay. For the lion I added balls made from hot glue poured into pre-made molds, and used for the head, chest and pelvis.

My balls - yes there's 3 of them. Well there was for the first armature, but as I have 4 adult lions to create I have to make some more.

The moles From my previous post filled with hot glue

The two semi-spheres were extracted easily enough when set. I had smeared the surfaces of the molds first with vasaline (amazing stuff - so many uses) which prevented the glue from sticking to the plaster.

The two halves are then simply glued together

The finished product - not perfectly round I know but I don't need them to be as they will be covered with modelling clay.

I decided to include a length of wire in some of the spheres to use them for the heads - the wire then gets joined to the torso and provides a good support.

I first made an oval shape on one end of the wire for a more secure grip

 

Then I applied hot glue to one half of the sphere. The oval end of the wire is then laid flat onto the glue

The second half is then pressed tightly to the first - this procedure has to be carried out fast as the glue sets fairly quickly.

The extending wire can then be trimmed to whatever length is required. One advantage of the hot glue method that I discovered is that additional sections - wire / shapes - can be added (by glueing) or removed (by cutting)

For the torso I used two of theses spheres - one either end - a short section of plastic pipe (filled with glue) and a couple of wooden beads. The spheres and pipe were drilled through the centre and some 1.5mm wire threaded through them. The beads were added to allow plenty of movement. Plastic rawl-plugs are used to strengthen the legs

The yellow modelling clay seen above is a replica of the original (poster) lions torso.

I originally used 1.5mm wire for the leg armatures but found it too strong, trying to manipulate it when covered in clay would have resulted in the clay being badly distorted. I then tried thin tying wire, which was doubled in strength by twisting two lengths together. This would have been too weak used on it's own but with the plastic rawl-plugs giving added support I ended up with a sturdy armature thats very flexible at the joints. The image above shows the original wire at the back legs and the replacement wire on the front legs.

As the replacement leg armature wire is thinner than the original I ended up with too much free play where it passed through the spheres. This resulted in the torso rocking forwards or backwards and collapsing at the slightest touch. The only solution to this was to add a dab of glue where each wire protruded from the spheres i.e. shoulder and hip joints. I might still have to add some small wooden beads at these points - depending on how the armature works when its covered in clay, but at the moment it's solid and sturdy. Now I just have to make 3 more.

A few of the different poses

If your wondering what this is it's a cast I made for the buffalos head. Hot glue again, this time poured into the top section of a plastic bottle. The plastic was then cut away when set. When I started to fill this it was using up an awful lot of glue sticks so I threw in a few balls of scrunched up paper and it seems to have worked o.k. I probably should have placed the clay beside this to give a better idea of it's scale -     it's big. I realised afterwards that I never fitted a wire to connect it to the torso but thats the beauty of the hot glue - I just have to cut it in half, fit a section of wire, and then glue it back together. 

There is one drawback to using hot glue though - it tends to stick to tools if your drilling, cutting or filing down at a later stage. Even though it might be set, the heat generated from the friction of the tool caused it to melt slightly and stick to whichever tool your using. It doesn't really do any harm but it does mean that the glue then has to be removed from the tool afterwards, which usually involves scraping it off with a blade or scraper.

The next step now is to add a section of wire at the back - for the tail - and then wrap everything with cling-film. This allows for easier removal of the clay when finished. Talking of finished it's time I finished this post (think I just heard the barman call my name)

Some of the more recent reference material I've gathered for the animation short

These images are examples of how the buffalo character might look from the lions view point

As my buffalo characters stomach expands in one scene I thought this was a good example of how that might look

The reason for the skeletal images is for when I make the armatures, as a reference for joint positions and for how far the shoulders and hips protrude as the character walks. I will also be making some bones for the exploding buffalo scene so it's good to have an idea what they should look like.

Below are a few links to videos of instances where buffalos attack lions - part of my research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NBonB14i7VM

http://youtu.be/NBonB14i7VM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4oSTSV9EvAU

A collection of the line drawings that I used to compose my storyboard.