Best Picture: Falling Down 

Best Director: John Carpenter 

Best Actor: Kurt Russell 

Best Actress: Natasha Lyonne 

I struggled at first to think of an actress, because my taste in movies tends to be classics in which women were underrepresented and female characters were written with less depth. I picked Natasha Lyonne because of her acting in movies like ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ and shows like ‘Orange is the New Black’. 

What Makes a Film Good? 

I like to think that a film is good when it succeeds at its purpose. A good comedy should be funny and light-hearted, a good horror should be scary. A movie that has a message is good if the message is represented well and received well. This also means that a movie that doesn’t succeed in terms of making money or fulfilling the promises of a genre can be good if it was a passion project, and the people who worked on making it enjoyed doing so. 

Another important factor to making a ‘good’ movie tends to be general quality. A mediocre story could become a big hit if it is edited and filmed in an interesting way, makes good use of staging, audio, location, and ever extra tool at it’s disposal. For an easy example, simply think of how many movies take place in iconic locations like London, New York, Las Vegas, etc. purely because such a setting can vastly improve success. 

However – movies aren’t just entertainment, or even quality. They are an industry, being a director, actor, producer, or any other worker on a set is a job, and production companies are, well, companies. The monetary success of movies simply cannot be ignored when considering if one is good or not, as making money is almost always at least the secondary purpose of making a movie. 

Take, for example, Falling Down, my favourite movie. With a budget of 25 million dollars, it grossed 96 million – and took top spot of the US box office for the two weeks following its release, pushing down Groundhog Day during this time. It was a monetary success, and was also a good movie for those who watched simply for entertainment.  

But in terms of the reception of the message, it’s a different story. The movie’s plot follows the character ‘D-FENS’ (known by this alias as the secondary plot follows the police’s investigation of him, where they refer to him by his car’s number plate) slowly losing more and more of his inhibitions as he finally decides to fight back against the things that anger him about the world, and also follows the character of Sergeant Prendergast following his spree of crimes and trying to stop him. 

There are multiple ways to interpret the themes of the movie, but I believe they are trying to say two main things; you can’t just suppress your unhappiness and anger, but you also can’t just release all of it on the world around you. Both of these lead to doom. These themes are best exemplified when you look at D-FENS and Prendergast’s stories side by side, where they aren’t opposites – rather, they are mirrors of each other, the only difference being that Prendergast mostly manages his issues in a healthy manner (aside from the occasional outburst). The other message the movie is trying to convey is how far people are willing to excuse crimes and immoral actions when faced with perspective and anger, as we see D-FENS clearly portrayed in the wrong for his increasingly terrible acts, but the movie only really solidifies him as the villain in the final act, when really the audience should’ve caught on much earlier. 

Unfortunately, it seems both of these messages failed to land for a lot of viewers – most review sites will have Falling Down listed as average at best, swaying between 50 – 75% positive. Though I don’t think this makes Falling Down a bad movie, as it still succeeds in its other facets, and the misunderstanding of how the movie presents the main character could even speak to the effectiveness of it’s second message, it can’t be ignored that for a lot of people, it didn’t hit the mark. 

To conclude, I think that a ‘good’ movie should succeed at what it attempts to do, whatever that may be – and I also do not believe that such a thing as a ‘bad’ movie exists, as there’s always someone out there who got enough enjoyment from it for it to have been worth their time and money. 

cinematography – the general composition of a scene (the lighting of the set/location, the choice of cameras/lenses/filters and film stock, the camera angle/movements and the integration of any special effects to create meaning

cinematographer – responsible for the art form of visual storytelling through motion picture photography

A director manages the creative process of the entire production, whereas a cinematographer focuses more closely on the visual aspects of a film.

cinematography is the art and also the technology of photography for film, involving things such as composition, as well as lighting, location, etc.

cinematographer is the person who presides over the camera and light crews in a film, and are responsible for the filming of the scene

the difference between a director and cinematographer is that a director oversees and gets the final approval, the director overviews the overall composition and how it fits into the final film, as well as overviews the whole production whereas the cinematographer mainly takes care of the technical side and the camera

What is Cinematography?

The art and technology of motion-picture photography. It is composed of the elements: composition of a scene, camera choice, lighting, lenses, filters, camera angle, movements and more.

What is a Cinematographer?

The person in charge of recording the film. They can also be referred to as a DP (director of photography).

what is the difference between a director and Cinematographer ?

The director guides the cinematographer, providing an oversee to what they want to be filmed in the scene. The Cinematographer helps visual the directors vision.

Cinematography is the art of photography, camera work in film-making.

A Cinematographer is the person who oversees or directs the camera work and photography in film-making.

Cinematography – the process of photography in motion picture productions.

Cinematographer – the person in charge of the camera and light crews recording a film. Also known as a DP (Director of Photography)

The difference between a director and cinematographer is that the director is in charge of the overall production, including the actors, while DPs are in charge of assisting to bring the directors vision to life with photography and lighting.

week 3 Mise en Scene (3).pptx

In the passage, when Monaco refers to “the spectrum of the arts” he is describing a framework that categorizes different types of artistic expression based on various factors that define their unique characteristics this spectrum helps us understand the diverse nature of artistic endeavours and how they relate to one another. Monaco explores three broad categories with this spectrum

Performance arts: This category encompasses art forms that occur in real time and involve live performances. examples include theatre, or musical concerts. these arts rely on the immediate presence of performers and their interaction with the audience to convey their message or expression.

Representational arts: representational arts depend on established codes and conventions language both pictorial and literary, to convey information about the subject to the observer, examples include painting sculpture literature and traditional filmmaking, these arts use symbolism, imagery and narrative to communicate their ideas and emotions.

recording arts: the recording arts involve media that provide a more direct connection between the subject and the observer. examples include photography, these arts capture and reproduce aspects of reality, aiming to convey a sense of authenticity and direct experience to the audience

in summary “the spectrum of the arts” refers to the classification of different art forms based on their characteristic and modes of expression. It includes performance arts, representational arts and recording arts, each with its own methods of communication and connection with the audience. Monaco suggests that digital technology is reshaping our perception of authenticity within the new recording arts, leading to new forms of artistic expression and interpretation.

Activity 2 – Shot distances

The first image is example of medium close up, a shot that closes up on the subject creates a sense of intimacy and connection between the subject and audience. This is important in understanding the betrayal Chiron feels as he is abandoned and mistreated by his mother, someone who seems caring and compassionate but turns out to be the opposite. This shot follows a commonly depicted image of a mother holding her son and by zooming in to the finer details the cinamatographer reveals the imperfections of maternal love and how Chiron doesn’t have the connection with his mother that the audience expect.
Additionally the long shot used in the second image further illustrates the relationship between Chiron and his mother and how it depletes over time. The second image, at the end of the movie, positions the camera much further away than the first image, eluding to the fact that Chiron, as an adult, realises the lack of connection his mother allowed them to have as a result of her addiction.

This shot in Moonlight is an example of a long shot, the first shot depicts Juan driving and is the audiences first introduction of his car, which later is inherited to Chiron (2nd shot). Both shots follow the movement of the car and give the audience a sense of story in relation to both Chiron and Juan. The first long shot reveals a typical neighbourhood in which Juan is revealed to oversee a drug selling business, whereas the second shot follows Chiron travelling to go see an old school friend. The contrast between the two shots suggest the differences between Juan and Chiron although the identical shot-style allows the audience to realise that they aren’t too different after all.

The scene in which Kevin beats up Chiron in Moonlight begins with a extreme close up of both characters. Following an intimate scene involving both characters the audience is presented with another intimate shot, but instead of a romantic intimacy, the shot depicts a violent and threatening atmosphere. An extreme close up allows the characters to reveal their inner monologues and emotions without it being misinterpreted as a hateful fight but instead something Kevin was forced into. The regretful, guilty look on Kevin’s face could only be seen by the audience as a result of a close up, this tells the audience that this is important to see in order to understand the dynamic between both characters in the rest of the movie.

Activity 3 – Camera Angles

Both of these shots utilise a Birds Eye View, this creates an impression of vulnerability within Chirons character, firstly when Chiron faces his mother who is an addict and treats him poorly and secondly after Chiron gets beaten up by Kevin and his school bullies. Both scenes collectively depict the loneliness that Chiron feels as a result of the people who are supposed to treat him with love but instead abuse his trust and mistreat him. The purpose of the camera being above Chiron in both shots is that it paints him to be alone, with no one to support him the times when he most needs it.

This is an example of an high angle shot. Referencing the Movies title : Moonlight, the audience is put in the perspective of the moonlight shining down on Kevin and Chiron and witnesses a moving and significant scene in the film. This shot creates the impression of importance within this scene, a huge turning point for Chiron in terms of his sexuality and trust for others, but also in relation to Chiron’s fear of judgment. The way the camera ‘looks down’ apon the two boys as if to reference the fear Chiron holds about others ‘looking down’ on him if he chooses to embrace and tackle his complicated relationship with his own identity and sexuality.

This is an example of a Worms Eye View style shot in Moonlight. During the scene is which Chiron gets beaten up, the camera joins Chiron on the floor and pans up to the bullies who are beating him. In contrast to the scene before, the birdseye/high angle view of Kevin and Chiron on the beach turns to a Wormseye/low angle view on the delinquents who hurt Chiron, predator become prey. The cinematographer does this to validate Chirons fear of being judged and hurt by others, instead of feeling safe with Kevin who he is meant to trust, Chiron gets awoken by reality by Kevin who betrays his trust and beats him up. This provoked the audience to succumb to the reality that society isn’t always accepting to those who aren’t considered typical or who aren’t straight.

Activity 4 – Camera Movement

The scene in which Chiron joins in with the other boys to play starts with a camera movement called trucking. Trucking is when the camera moves along a fixed point allowing the motion of the camera go from left to right etc. This camera movement allows the film to introduce a demographic of characters in a short amount of time, this is important in understanding the pressures Chiron faced as a young kid. The camera positions the audience in the same boat as Chiron; susceptible to judgment and ridicule by other boys and vulnerable to the torment that others put him in in his early life.

By collectively documenting Chirons peers together, this further separates Chiron to be ‘different’ in the eyes of others, this is reinforced by the fact that Chiron leaves the game of football half way through and ever since is the victim to ridicule and torment.

When Chiron goes to visit Kevin at his kitchen job, the cinematographer utilises a camera movement called zoom. This is when the camera steadily closes in to whatever is in the centre of the screen, in this case, an escape. The camera zooming in gives the audience the impression that Chiron wants to leave, he comes to terms with the awkwardness and rawness of seeing Kevin again in adult life and feels as though the best thing to do is run away. By emphasising this fear that Chiron has, the fact that he stays with Kevin and doesn’t leave is considered more important and even brave in Chirons part, this turns out to be significant in Chirons journey to self-acceptance.