Nebraska draft 2

AS film Robyn Matthews First draft

Nebraska (2013) directed by Alexander Payne is a black and white comedic drama with themes of insanity, love, nurture, jealousy and greed. An old Married man, Woody Grant, played by Bruce Dern is indefatigable in seeking his million dollar reward from a unofficial Pamphlet. 

At the beginning of my chosen scene there is a mid-shot of Woody’s son looking up at him. This initially implies to the viewer that he is above Woody physically and metaphorically. This technique is significant in defying the hierarchy of the film as it highlights the directors emotions on how the characters see each other and how they want to be portrayed. The next shot is of Woody, evidently the son is looking down on him while he is in the hospital bed giving the opposite effect from the previous shot. As these shots are consecutive it creates a larger contrast and creates a more vivid interpretation from the directors mind set and how the characters insecurities and displayed.

In these few shots the camera is steady showing that it is on a tripod. The shots alter between a mid-shot of the son, a mid shot of Woody and an over the shoulder shot of the son displaying the back off Woody’s head and the hospital bed. This last shot gives a sense of involvement with in the conversation and gives the viewer a sense of engagement.

This scene is in black and white. It isn't so common that modern day films will use this type of cinematography as modern film has developed the stereotype that the best films are the ones with the most CGI and biggest explosives and colour. However, for the film Nebraska, I agree that the monochrome affect seconded the message presented in the narrative.

Here is a mid shot of Woody Grant. I feel this shot particularly is very well thought out as Woody's facial expressions and emotions are clearly presented as he is looking straight past the cameraman. You can see the frustration in his face presumably caused by the lingering thought of his unclaimed prize. Behind him you can see the train tracks and at first sight you would assume he was in some sort of danger. This was purposely done by the director as he wanted to display how Woody's health and endless determination is putting him at risk. Furthermore the image blurs the further it goes into the distance insinuating that there is no way Woody can return from the state he is in as his past is no longer intact. His mental state is so fix stated on the present the past is only a blur to him. In addition the sky appears quite bright making Woody appear darker; this is unusual as this suggests Woody is also in a dark place and the light, possibly heaven, is creeping top behind him and he is unaware of his situation because he never looks behind.

This scene particularly has a comedic essence about it. David is searching for Woody’s teeth that he claims top have lost at the railway track.

David: Here they are!

Oh, wait, these aren’t yours.

Just kidding, here.

Woody: These are not mine.

David: Of course, if they are.

Who’s who else will be?

See if they fit.

Woody: These are not my teeth.

I know my own teeth

Of course they are my teeth!

Do not be an idiot.

David performs a humorous joke in saying they aren’t his fathers teeth which is comedic itself as who would lose their teeth in this particular area. However Woody begins to agree with David’s point even after David admits he was joking around. When I watched this it made me feel that Woody truly was crazy as his performance was so believable caused by his determination to stay with his original idea. However, the audience are fooled when he turns around and states “Of coarse they are my teeth! Do not be an idiot.” This was surprising as from the previous scenes you are assuming Woody’s mental state is incompatible of having a joke so when he quotes this we are all fooled. This made us all feel belittled and nonsensical which then makes us emphasize for Woody as this is how he is constantly feeling due to nobody listening to him. I feel this particular part of the script was well planned. It gives a comedic value to the film, which lifts the vibe of the current situation, but also it gives you a more personal understanding fro Woody and why he is like this.

My second Proposal

Documentary about the personal life and experiences of my cat. My documentary is going to be about the attitudinal problems of my cat and how he is affected everyday about his habitat and surroundings and how dependant his life is on others around him. He will be followed over a series of days and this will give us an inside into what he gets up to.

I am going to film this at home and i will use a variety of shot sizes. The most common one that i will be using is the over the shoulder shot as this will give a perspective from his point of view and allow the viewer to emphasise his situation.

This is going to be a collection of various shots and sizes exploring his daily activities whether it's eating, sleep or lying around. I am going to add some audio into the background as an accompliment. I aim to find a piece of classical music on my laptop as I feel this will create a comedic value for the silent movie. Further more to add plot to my short film I intend to start with a shot of a dvd being posted through the letter box and then this will be played on my television. Essential you will be watching an inception of films.

I also plan to create a climax to my plot to give the film debth and substance. As this is a silent movie I am going to have to be very particular with my shots and where I order them to convey the situation. I plan to display Biscuits death at the end of the film and this will be caused by an obect falling onto him.

The Selfish Ginat Analysis

Robyn Matthews the Selfish Giant analysis The Selfish Giant (2013) directed by Clio Barnard, written by Clio Barnard and Oscar Wilde. From the opening scenes I established that the narrative of this film is about two working class thirteen year old friends currently living with crime. In the opening scene the mis en scene is clearly thought out. The lighting is dimly lit to represent the emotions portrayed in the scene: anger and frustration. Furthermore this signifies that Conner Chapman, Arbor, is currently in a dark place justified by his aggressive actions as he bangs on the runs of the bed. His friend Swifty, played by Shaun Thomas, forcefully tries to calm Arbor down and contain his violent outburst. This appeared hard to do which shows that Arbor has a determined personality as he will not give up, however eventually Swifty tightly holds his hand and the director purposefully got a close up of this particular shot. This shot is very significant as we are alerted of the love and unity between the two boys and the power a simple hold of the hand has over some beings. This is a display of comfort as universally holding hands in a symbol of you not being alone…you are safe. The next scene is the two young boy riding on a hoarse by the train tracks over a bridge. Immediately this gives us some back ground information on where they come from and how they are brought up. The fact they are on top of this horse shows where their mindset is and perhaps they are a bit ahead of their time. In the past horses were ridden by nights defending the castle so suggestively they feel a need to present their authority. I have come to the conclusion that this is because they are in a dangerous place as not many 13 year old boys will be allowed out in the dead of night by themselves, so to accumulate a protective illusion they have sat on this hoarse to reassure themselves that this is an okay thing to do. The light is dimly lit in the scene also showing that the danger is not over. We have a clear view of two working middle aged men cutting a large piece of cable. The lighting tells us a lot about the danger. As it is dark we don’t have a clear view on the cast, therefore, their safety is blurred and what happens next cannot be foreshadowed. Arbor is then edged by Swifty to check out what is happening as this abnormal occurrence intrigued the boys. This resulted in Arbor stealing the cable and riding away with Swifty to his aid. This scene is very significant as we are exposed to what the boys feel is acceptable to do. The theme living with crime is clearly demonstrated to the audience. Next the boys bring the cables to a scrap yard where we discover they got the hoarse from. Immediately they are approached by a man with an axe and threatened but they barter with him showing the cables and later receive money for the merchandise. Here we see that people priorities money over safety and people are willing to risk their lives for a little bit of cash. In the next scene the boys return to Arbors home where we understand his living situation deeper. We see a basic kitchen which alerts us that this family is not very wealthy. The reduced in price cereal boxes and lack of equipment on the counter tell us this. We are made aware that Arbors mum is single and his brother and he are quite clearly the male dominants in the family. Their mother feels its acceptable to be spoken down to by her son as she is incapable of controlling him this may be because she hasn’t sorted her own life out. We are then made aware that Arbors anger issues are clearly because of a mental disorder called ADHD. This is made clear by the reference to his pills which justifies this assumption. We then as viewers, feel quite sympathetic for |Arbor and our once outraged emotions caused by his actions are softened as there is a logical reason to why this young man is so angry and disrespectful towards his family.