I chose this from ‘Schindler’s List’ (By Steven Spielberg, 1993) mainly because of this particularly memorable scene. Everything is darkness; except this young child walking through the Polish streets, a bright red figure clad against darkness. This is not just visually appealing, it also has significance to the plot because it represents innocence and brightness in a time of chaos and misery
I chose this example from ‘Reservoir Dogs’ (By Quentin Tarantino, 1992) because of it’s spectacular and innovative development of the fore and background. From the scene below, you can see that everything is well-balanced. The ‘victim’ of such is trapped in the foreground, with the villain in the middle; blocking the exit which we can see in the background. This unique positioning ensures that the audience can feel part of the audience as there is much perspective
I chose ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’ (By Joel and Ethan Coen, 2001) as an excellent example of composition. The whole film uses clever angles and framing, but this particular scene stands out to me because of the rhythm and perspective. There is an aspect of leading lines which draws the audience in immediately, and a strong balance across the scene. The line across the table is an interesting concept because it physically separates the two characters; Ed and Doris across from each other
I chose ‘I, Frankenstein’ (By Stuart Beattie, 2014) because i think the makeup designed was incredible. It looked realistic enough because it was not too deformed or warped to look entirely fake. It is meant to disgust the audience because that is the whole plot behind the character, which is an interesting concept because it adds more depth and development to Frankenstein
I think ‘Lights Out’ (by David Sandberg, 2016) is the best example of lighting techniques demonstrated in film. The movie plot is based around lighting and darkness, which leads to many dark scenes only using limited light but in very effective ways as displayed below. I think the movie is effective as centralizing the significance of light because it manages to use shadows and mainly low-key lighting to create an eerie atmosphere.
I chose the Cinderella (By Kenneth Branagh, 2015) dress for my example but although it is simple, it is elegant and reflects the simple beauty of Cinderella which Branagh is trying to get across. It also uses soft and pastel colors which pictures innocence yet beauty
The example that I chose was from Lord Of The Rings (By Peter Jackson, 2001) , which was filmed in New Zealand. I chose this because the location was interesting enough to allow the audience to be transported into the atmosphere and world of the film. It is also not too complex and uses basic ideas to seem realistic enough to the audience
The top ten films mainly include action/adventure, which suggests that this is rapidly becoming a popular genre. This can be due to popular actors being cast, CGI and special effects. But a popular idea is the reducing cost to produce these films, most notably; due to special effects. For example, nowadays you can use special effects to show a building explosion rather than explode an actual building which costed films an exceptional amount of their budget in the early 1900’s. This leads to more budget available for more popular and well-known actors to draw the audience in. Actions films are also popular because of their interesting plots and wide range of stunts.
There are also two Chinese films in the top ten, which suggests that foreign films are becoming more popular inside the USA. This can be because more people are speaking Chinese, or even as people are beginning to experiment with new film types and try something new. Although these films are unknown to some Americans, they are famous within the Chinese community which is so large within America; that it contributes to their immense success.
Another observation I noticed, is that many of the films were in a franchise. These include ‘The Avengers: Infinity War’, ‘Deadpool’, ‘The Incredibles’ and some others. These concepts are so popular because they entice audience into watching them with the promise of finding out what will happen from a previously well-known and loved film. This idea is appealing because it answers any questions that the audience had about the film and offers another opportunity to engage in the series. Viewers will also engage more in the plot because they have chosen to watch it continued so must hold some form of interest in the key ideas.
Another point worth mentioning is the hiring of famous, Hollywood stars which appeal to the audiences. Examples include Chris Pratt who stars in ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’, Dwayne Johnson who stars in ‘Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle’ and Chris Hemsworth who stars in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. These stars are well-known and extremely popular in Hollywood which attracts some audience members to their films.
Some films are adaptations of popular novels; an example of this is ‘Ready Player One’. The novel was published in 2011, and was quite popular with the YA and Sci-fi community. The film adaptation did not disappoint, and steered far from ‘copying’ its inspiration and rather opted for making several significant changes from the novel.
Film adaptations of popular fiction are received so greatly because they can serve as an interesting visual for popular novels. They gain large audiences, mainly of those who read the book because they want to see how it will be presented and also adapted/changed. If a particular novel was popular, it can draw in large audiences from those who might not always go to the cinema but want to see how their beloved book will be presented. This is an interested concept because it varies the audience form those who have come from the novel and want to see how it will be and those who are interested in the plot or actors, and have not necessarily read the book.
In conclusion, the top ten 2018 films show that the ‘formula’ for a successful film can vary due to multiple factors. Some are successful because they draw in a large audience in the promise of following up a popular series or film adaptation. Whereas others rely on popular talent to secure their audience. Finally, some bank on a certain genre because of the many benefits of using it
Opinion on Spike Lee’s viewpoint
To a certain extent, I agree with Spike Lee’s opinion that you cannot properly create a film reflecting a certain experience of a gender, ethnicity, religion or culture if you are not of that particular group. I think this because despite the extent of research, you cannot truly experience what the person is going through because it is not the same as your experiences. It is hard to put yourself in their shoes despite what you think that you know, especially with a sensitive topic.
Topics such as race or gender can be sensitive to make, since there is typically a large audience for these specific films; they can be extremely hard to get right. Personally, I think these films should be wrote or directed by someone who understand and experience them to a certain extent because I think they are able to relate to the topic well enough to offer a valid and interesting representation
There can be serious issues with films trying to express sensitive views if they have not experienced it first-hand. Sometimes despite research, a director or screenwriter can misinterpret any part of the film. This can feel disrespectful to the audience, usually those linked in with the gender, ethnicity or religion that the movie is expressed.
On the other hand, I can understand the topic of diversity and why experienced directors or screenwriters would want to produce films with sensitive topics. Some of the best films express sensitive topics and not necessarily all are directed by directors who reflect these experiences. This shows that some directors can approach these types of films with such sensitivity and maturity that they produce excellent work which represents the topic positively
There is also the issue of subjectivity, which suggests that we can only direct or write films which reflect us. This is such a problem because it implies that we understand the whole genre. For example, stating a black man should only direct films about a black man limits his potential and suggests that all he knows is retelling himself in a different format. In this retrospect, I think everyone should be offered equal opportunities because this ensures that a wide range of films are covered as much as possible