This scene is from Ready Player One (2018 , directed by Stephen Spielberg ) and the composition is balanced and this draws attention to the Iron Giant in the center which is the point of convergence in the center of the shot and this means that the Giant is the central focus point of the shot.
“The Nun” (directed by Corin hardy, 2018) Is a horror film about a nun that took her own life and the death of which is investigated by a priest and a novitiate. Together, they uncover the “Order’s” unholy secret, risking their lives in the process. The Costume designer Sharon Gilham did an amazing job. The horrific makeup and costume for the nun created an extremely eerie atmosphere. Although this film did not have a large amount of cheap jump scares, it had a lot of psychological mind tricks that are arguably even more terrifying than a jump scare. The costume design really helped create psychological thrills and was very accurate. I’m sure many people are going to have the face of the demonic nun in their heads for a long time as the makeup was too frightening to forget.
I have decided to use the Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 (2017,directed by James Gunn ) as an example of the innovative use of color in film because in this film color is used to give each character a distinct visual identity in the often drab world that they inhabit and this makes the film visually pleasing to watch
I think that this scene from Thor: Ragnarok (dir. Taika Waititi, 2017) has used the idea of spacing very effectively. The director has chosen to have the Valkyrior coming from above, and for Hela to be positioned below, which creates a stunning contrast between the two. The audience could also interpret this as having a symbolic meaning – as the Valkyrior above represent heavenly angels. This was a very good decision by the director, as the positioning emphasises how Hela is bad and could bring chaos to Asgard. Even though nearly the entire scene was made using visual effects in post production, it still looks amazing.
There is a notable formula to the box office numbers in 2018. for instance, almost all of them are action movies, as action movies are usually fairly easy to follow and understand. Action movies are also trying to compete with video games to try and keep the audience engaged in the film.
Many of the films also star A-list actors that lots of people know about. films with well known actors in them are more likely to be successful as people can go to the cinema to see someone specifically in a film.
Seven of the highest grossing films are either sequels or part of an established franchise – this means that many people will be drawn in to see a film because it is part of a franchise they already like, or because they enjoyed the first movie and want to see more in the sequel.
Half of the top ten highest grossing films are either adaptations from books or comics; this is because,of the people that read the book/comic, many of them will want to see how faithful of an adaptation the director has created, while others go because they want to see the pages that they’ve read turn into a movie on the big screen.
Opinion on Spike Lee’s viewpoint
Spike Lee’s opinion that you cannot create a film properly when trying to reflect the experience of a certain group – gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, or culture if you are not a part of it is something that I agree with to an extent. This is because you can’t capture the essence of what these groups go through in terms of discrimination and fighting for rights unless you have experienced it yourself. Even if you do extreme research including interviews with people from the groups or witnessing a protest/hateful remarks on these groups yourself; that is an experience of a bystander. Plus, every individual person’s story is different, and so making the mistake of basing an entire movie about a specific group on one person’s experience can set the wrong impression on how it truly is – since it’s different for everyone.
Certain groups such as gender and race, the most commonly known groups to have a movie about since they tend to have large audiences, are the most sensitive. These groups should be created by someone who has personal experience with what it’s like; otherwise the context can be taken out of proportion. Life imitates art, therefore movies have a big impact on how the world works, which is why certain subjects should be carefully presented or else the wrong impression can be made and make matters in the real world worse. Plus a large controversy over the film can build up and it would have a low success rate.
However, some of the best films that approach these topics are created by directors outside of these groups. I believe that certain people can direct these films with high levels of maturity and understanding, that it is not disrespectful to the audience and doesn’t send the wrong message. Plus, hateful audience members such as racists and sexists who know it is directed by a member of the group may claim that it is over-exaggerated and sending a completely wrong message. It is known that an outsider’s perspective is usually more accurate than the insider’s perspective. Therefore a movie about issues that groups of people face, created by someone who observes rather than takes part, could be taken more seriously and gain more respect from particular audiences that aren’t apart of the groups. Plus people in these groups may respect the fact that someone who isn’t struggling understands what they go through despite no personal experiences with it.
So in my opinion, it’s a mistake for someone unbeknownst to the struggles to be the ones to present it to the world, as audiences may treat these movies as a learning experience. So if the wrong idea is shown in these films, a big breakout may happen and the movie’s success rate will plummet. However, certain directors know how to approach these issues respectfully and maturely. Overall, I believe when using a director who is outside of a group that the movie is trying to reflect, choose wisely and make sure they have researched properly and have high levels of respect for people.
A great example of amazing costume design is in the film “Mad Max: Fury Road” (George Miller, 2015) the English designer Jenny Beaven designed incredible costumes that turned regular people into vicious and relentless killers. Whether it is the use of makeup to make the “war boys” seem hollowed and concave or the use of costume to accentuate the horrible diseases these characters developed from years of being in this toxic wasteland, “Mad Max: Fury Road” earned Beaven her 11th Oscar nomination and is widely known as an incredible work of art.
Knowledgeable: You must be aware of the world and the mechanics of objects to accurately portray them in movies.
Caring: You need to be caring to effectively implement a positive message within your movie.
Inquiring: You need to have a curiosity about the world around you and the world your creating through the movie.
Risk-takers: When making a movie or analysing one you need to be capable of finding features that may by uncongenial or could a theme in movies that may be considered inappropriate.
Balanced: You need to have equal focus on all aspects of a movie so all the mechanics work in harmony with each other.
Reflective: You need to be aware or observant in any flaws or shortcomings in your movie, so you can improve it and make as cohesive as possible. As well as being able to receive any possible criticism of your movie.
Principled: You should be consistent with your image and idea for a movie so you do not each up dramatically changing the plot and not finishing it on time.
Communicators: You need to regularly commutate your plans for your movie with your cast, so they know exactly how to preform there role and support your movie.
Open minded: You should be open and trying to unique ideas and concepts in your movie as to make it feel original and stand out compered to a lot of other movies.
Historical films:
Toy Story: Innovated a popularised 3D animation, directed by John Lasseter
The Wizard of Oz: First movie to use colour, directed by Victor Fleming, Mrvyn LeRoy, King Vidor, George Cukor and Norman Taurog
Dr Strangelove: First movie to popularise the concept of political satire, Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Once upon a time in the West: Created a lot of the tropes frequently used in the western genre, Directed by Sergio Leone
Seventh Samurai: First Japanese produced film to find mainstream recondition outside of Japan. Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Alphaville: Popularised the genre of French new wave, Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Art Films:
The shape of Water: A monster story inspired by some of H.P. Lovecrafts books, Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Submarine: A romantic drama about a boy trying to keep his family together, Directed by Richard Ayoade
Manhattan: A Woody Allen romantic comedy, Directed by Woody Allen
Love Simon: A comedy about a boy named Simon trying to tell his family he is gay, Directed by Greg Berlanti.
Mainstream Films:
Deadpool 2, A superhero comedy where the hero fights a cyborg, Directed by David Leitch
A bugs life: Pixar’s Second animated film about a group of bugs trying to fend of grasshoppers, Directed by John Lasseter
The breakfast club: A teen comedy about a group of people in detention, Directed by John Hughs
Battleship Potemkin: A Russian propaganda movie about a battle ship being revolted by the angry sailors working on it, Directed by Sergei Eisenstein
Fitzcarraldo: About a man getting funds for a opera house by smuggling rubber on a boat, Directed by Werner Herzog
This shows that there are a lot less Historical or innovative films being made, losing a lot of originality that could be found in early film. However there has been a dramatic increase of mainstream films recently like Deadpool 2 and A bugs life. However, this isn’t a bad thing as the quality of mainstream and art films like Deadpool 2 and The shape of Water have been constantly high
This example for film stock and aspect ratio comes from The Good , The Bad and The Ugly (1966 , directed by Sergio Leone) and I chose it because this film has a grainy quality to it and that helps to set the mood for the film and this film utilizes widescreen shots and that gives you a sense of the immense scale of the film.