In movies there are two type’s elements incorporated into film and that’s micro and macro. The micro element in film is to do with how the film comes together and how it flows from beginning to end. What forms the micro element is editing, mis-en-scene, cinematography and sound. Editing is used to put the scenes in the right order, to correct mistakes and to improve scenes such as ones what include CGI or may have different camera shots. However too much could see the audience pick out where the effect or camera is slightly not up to standards. Mis-en-scene is the part of the process where they build the scene with certain props or use background/green screen. ‘Cinematography is the art and process of movie photography’ such as how the movie such as if the film is being filmed in black and white or if the film is using first person or third person for the scene. Sound is used throughout film as it includes music, noises and talking, this part of the element is used mostly used to create a mood such as possibly sadness or joy. In The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly the sound is used to show tension between characters as well as danger in my opinion this is a good use of sound in film.

The micro element is what is included in the film. Genre is the theme of the film such as horror or crime what has to be the core throughout the plot of the film. Messages and values should be used to create an effect on the viewer or audience as it could be used as a way to sympathise with the characters or to teach the audience such as movies based on true stories. This gives more of a reason to watch movie because of this. Representation is part of film what continuously debated as minorities haven’t been represented in film through Hollywood however more films are starting to use a diverse cast as films like Gods of Egypt was criticised even by one of their own actors of white washing. Having a diverse cast adds more to movie as it creates more realistic cast of characters unless it’s based upon something. The narrative of the film is how the film comes together to tell a story. Style in film is down to how the director directs his work as will use certain camera techniques, certain types of effects or camera if the film has an off colour background, examples of this are the directors Quentin Tarantino with blood effects and Zack Snyder with certain camera shots and having green tint in his lens, this how their films become memorable. The authorship is considered as the level of the director who is seen as the sole author of the film. Theme is what gives layers to the film by being able to build a more complex story by giving more meaning behind such things as a dialogue. To make a good film there should be a good balance of theme where there is not too much to complicate the film or to little so there is nothing complexed about the film. In Goodfellas the use of theme is used to show how complexed each character with some showing greed while others anger.

To make a good film, each individual part of both elements must be incorporated but must be used in a way what is well balanced as you don’t want to be called out for something what can hurt the film in the end in the way as if you didn’t use these in the final cut. Goodfellas includes all the above as it focuses on a balance to give you the immersion of life as an American gangster or The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly what makes you feel like you’re in the West.

All-time favourites

Best Picture: Goodfellas

Best director: Martin Scorsese

Best Actor: Robert De Niro

Best Soundtrack: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly/Star wars

Goodfellas, September 12 1990, Martin Scorsese

One of Martin Scorsese’s iconic styles is his long take what can be seen in his most critical acclaimed movies but this one is his most iconic long shot to show the relationships between characters, and the advantage of being a gangster. He uses this as a way to take away attention from the violence and illegal behavior of being gangster and shows the upside of it and makes a much calmer scene compared to the rest of the movie. He has done this to make the scene more memorable as it is the part of the movie what is completely different to everything else as its much more chaotic and violent. The type of shot used is sequence shot what allows the background of the scene to become realistic and more layered. The shot took 8 times to get right as it was by a problem with the set what made them having to shoot the scene entering at the back. Scorsese decided to do this unbroken as a way to symbolize the life ahead for Henry.

I agree to an extent as someone from the culture I believe is the best person to take the role of director. As you can tell in Quentin Tarantino films he overuses racial slurs with Spike Lee criticising him for that particularly as he does overuse that offensive language however Tarantino’s movies are supposed to be over the top and Samuel L Jackson has defended him. This shows a mix of opinion in this debate however it can clearly be seen for the argument how Lee sees his culture misrepresented as a form of this as films such Black Panther what reached a wider audience as Ryan Coogler an African-american director was able to represent his culture and find a characters for this audience to resonate with.

However Spike Lee’s comments could be turned against him by saying how he might misrepresent certain cultures in his movies. However when he brings up Detroit that is unfair to criticise Bigelow as she is using sources to make a movie what according to some people is 99.5% accurate to the what actually happened. So its difficult to do everything right when your using material based of true stories to make a movie. As well that movie is a balance of the both white and black culture in the 60s what was possibly different to what is today making it even harder to get a perfect portrayal of both societies.

Yet I do see his problem as a whole as directors from one culture are not able to capture the same effect of someone from the culture the film has incorporated into it at its core  as they haven’t experienced to understand it. I still do believe that its not major problem compared to white washing in Hollywood what doesn’t allow a culture to be represented in the movie unlike this what still allows a culture to be represented.