Hurt Locker Analysis

1. The Hurt Locker is a film based on the actual war we are living today. Through out this film the audience experiences the danger the soldiers live every minute of the day and how they deal with it. We understand that every time the soldiers go out on a mission they have 50% chance of living and 50% chance of dying, they communicate their feelings and the risks they run while completing the mission. However, the most sad thing about this situation is that when a soldier dies is just ine more of the many soldiers that have died for the same reason, it's nothing more than that.

2. The film was shot in Jordan within miles of the Iraqi border; this gave the film a Middle East heat. The Director's work was very clear in letting her actors know what they needed to do and as a result the film came up great. The places she chose were the appropriate for each scene and the way the story was developed was the most adequate. The film is very recent, it was released on June 29, 2009, but the premier was at the Venice Film Festival in Italy during 2008. The Hurt Locker is not the first film about this topic, other films such as Stop-Loss (2008), In the Valley of Elah (2007), and Lions for Lambs (2007) have experienced this subject. However, the Hurt Locker has been more successful in theaters than the mentioned films before. Some of the thematic threads are "Dying for your country, but at the end you're just one more of many that are like you", "every second counts; live it or regret it later", "danger is what makes us differentiate between peaceful and suspenful moments".

3. The acting was critical and the actors acomplished the goal, which was to transmit what's a soldier's life like. The moments of suspence, the audience felt it and they shared that feeling with the character. The costume was okay, the actors were in their army uniforms and when it wasn't like that they were wearing casual and modern cloths. The Visual style was the appropiate for all kind of scence, from the most sensible and calm scene to the most dynamic and explosive scene; the visuality was okay. Obviously the Iconography were the images where "James" was dressing up to go and disconnect a bomb because it symbolized life or death. One of the first scenes was when another soldier like James died diconnecting  a bomb and now the audience was sensible about that part. Overall the production design was very good and they did their a great job so everything else was great too.

4. The cinematography was excellent, all the shots were focus on something and each one was important for the development of the film. There were all types of shots; one that i saw often was action/reaction shot, very important. Also the lighting of the scenes was good, there was always enough light. The style of this film is realistic, it has continuity shots and no jump cuts. The angles were well chosen, when they changed angles the story took a new perspective not only in the visualization, but in the story. Also the camera distance was used here, because is a war the audience needed to see the scene from distance to locate the character and not get lost. However, close ups were used here in the opened vs. closed forms.

Baraka Film Response

Well,  this film Baraka which means breath has such title because they entire movie is about nature and the world we live in, the air we breath. I think the purpose was to let the audience know what the movie is about and how we are affecting it. Also this film is critiquing the world we live in today, it's very different from what it should be, we as human beings have changed the world in a negative way. There no alternative vision represented. The message it's clear; think about what you do every day and how it's affecting or helping the world? The film shows mostly the negative effect of our actions and how innocent people suffer the consequences.

The fact that there was no audio made it quite different. We understood what the purpose and message was, but if it would have audio I think the film would have being better. Also there was no text therefore; the audience didn't know what countries were shown. We kind of get the idea, but we are not quite sure and that creates confusion. In my opinion I think text was need it in order to be clear. Most of the images are about nature, for example natural regions and beautiful areas. Other images such as the monk on the street and a cigarette factory along with city street suggest a change for good. Possibly  throughout religion or spiritually the society could achieve this change and improve the quality the world we live in.

Also this film highlights the difference between social classes, but it focuses in the low social class. They are the consequence of our acts and the places they live in are poor areas with unhealthy conditions; not only because of the don't have money, but because of the contamination in the natural environment. To obtain this feeling along with other emotions the music was essential, especially when the music was sad/solemn it created bigger and stronger emotions. I think that the reason we watched this movie was to understand that images are more powerful than words, and also to make conscience of our actions. Personally I feel that the films was more solemn and I doesn't make me want to travel, but to just be aware of what we do today is reflect it in the future and in any place of the world.

The acting was really good, I think that the audience forgot it was a movie and they felt like they were living it. Also the location were well chosen and contribuated to the good result of the film. The story about nature was well represented by the images and the theme along with the plot helped each other to not create confusion. The lighting and the cinematography was excellent. All the shots had the necessary light and show during what time of the day the events were happening. Additionally, the cinematography was great too and the close ups made the difference, they created all the emotions. The editing techniques were basic techmiques, but essencial for all the good work. And the sound had good quality as well, the audience had no trouble with the audio.

Documentary Film Analysis

The documentary film I watched was about skateboarding http://www.fuel.tv/firsthand and it explored the world of skaters; challenges, projects, and their life style. The narrative of the story is the protagonist and while he talks the audience actually sees what he's talking about, it is shown. Sometimes the images talk for themselves and express feelings that the audience is able to feel easily, there's no need for words. Everything is based on a true story and the theme would be do what you love with passion and never give up because all that effort is worth it; you make the difference. The way the story develops is classical, stars with a beginning, middle and an end, the climax is when he gets injure, but he recovers (a happy ending).



The camera work is very precise and clean, the style is realism and when cuts are made it's because they're needed.  Throughout the editing the story is fluent and contributes to the development of the story. Long shots are almost not use and close ups are frequently use because they are needed. Overall the camera work was very good and it made it look real, there are no errors and every shots has good quality. The lighting is perfect which makes the shot clear and smooth. The combination of these elements gave a good result that reflects on the video.

The editing is well done and it helps the audience to understand the story better. There are no transitions or effects, except for the presentation which is animation. This is because the story is non-fiction and it needs to be believable and make the audience forget they're watching a video. The audio is very clear and almost always the sounds are obtain from the actual footage, there's no need for fake sounds. Again all these is to make it real. The time is perfect in order to develop a documentary film, it tells the story as brief as possible and with the images shown it makes the story go faster. When the narrator is telling the story  they included his pauses and they cut off what wasn't needed. They had background music playing with no lyrics, but according to the mood of the protagonist. This documentary film came up very well and the camera work along with the editing made the result a good and precise piece.

Genre Connections/ Director Influences/Influences and Narrative Story

 I think that the film does develops a clear story around a character that moves from 3 acts; set up, maze and feeling because the audience can easily get that the climax; not having her phone and how she feels about it. The film creates an idea of what happens when someone takes away the most important thing and how they react to it. I feel that the lines and actions are consistently in character because my story is about action and reaction, so as a reaction of the protagonist there's a confusion about the conversation of different subjects. She's very concentrated on her phone that ironically finishes her friend's sentences, but with different meanings. The dialogue is important and it's well concise. The characters say the necessary in order to develops the story and it's show in the film. As for the climax; it's unique because it's not common to have a big confusion like shown here because of a phone and it's effective because it makes the film fall into the category of comedy.

Directing/ Acting/ Character

The actors were well selected because their personalities don't influence the film, the acting it's what it does and this film doesn't requires specific physical attributes. The actors did a good job because they develops very well their role and succeed in making the audience believe who they are and what they were feeling. Each one of the three actors have totally different personality that fit perfectly in the film. They are physical different, good looking and their appearance is different, it's difficult to be confused on who is who. Definitely the characters are able to of involving audience emotionally. They totally become the characters and the audience believes who they represent

The close-ups are significant.

Production Design/ Mis EN scene 
In this film the wardrobe is not important, it modern time and something casual. Make up is not an issue because it's a every day make-up, nothing that amazing or different.

Cinematography
Mostly every shot demonstrate the knowledge of rules of composition.The zoom ins were well done, smoothly so the audience would get distracted. The camera work was planned by the director and mostly every shot shows emotions and good angles

Edit/ FX, Techniques or Concepts

The cuts came out very clear and flow beautiful with the story.The audience is not confused by the shots shown because they're always on focus. Definitely effort has been made to cut shots and keep the interest.The audience needs to see each moment because they don't know when the two girls would realize they're talking about 2 different subjects and also what would happen with the phone. Shots follow logical visual statements.Jump shots have been avoided, both technical and general. Editing is smooth and fluid because this helps the audience to comprehend the story. The time is the exact time this film needs to develop the story and the audience to analyze it.

Sound Fx/ Score

The Microphone was placed close to the actor so there would be a better sound. The sound levels are different because some sound effects needed to be louder, however, it never affects the dialogue or distracts the audience. The first half of the film the sound is  not clear because there a construction next to it, but the second part the audio is clear and perfect. Scenery movements are well controlled and does not affects the audio.

Other Areas
Music and Effects

Sound has a consistently loudness and it's according to what we see in the screen. The background music is always appropriately. The music has no lyrics, but it helps the film to have at the beginning a feeling of happiness, at the middle confusion, and at the end anger. The music never interferes with the dialogue.

 Lighting

Lighting was not a problem, during the whole film the lighting was in good position and helped the film. The angle, color and the appropriate time of the day mad easier the lighting, the location favored the film.

Titles and Credits

The type style is appropriate for the film. Titles and credits remain long enough for the audience to read it. Also they help the film for the audience to know the order of events.

Objective

Overall the film came out okay; the concept was good and the actors acted their roles well, but the location and the camera work wasn't the best. The sound was bad for the first half and the film needed more close-ups. However, I think the film obtained their purpose; be funny and focus all the attention into the love between the girl and the phone, as a result there was a confusion. I think that out of my list of films this one is the less good because I personally committed many basic mistakes that I have never committed. However, I take this film as the stair that I needed to comprehend in films are categories; there's a difference between a normal/okay film and a different/unique/amazing film.

Treatment#1

There is a girl (Amanda) that buys a new phone and she is very careful with it, it's like her favorite object, and she doesn't want anyone to touch it or get it dirty.
Then an hour later there is this dude (Mike) that just comes to her and asks "Can I use your phone" everything happens so fast that she doesn't even have time to respond and this dude just grabs the phone and starts to use it.  Her face expression is "WHAT????", THAT'S MY NEW PHONE". Then her friend (Sue) arrives so desperate and says"my boyfriend just broke up with me, i just can believe it, who does he thinks he is?" and the Amanda responds "yeah Who does he thinks he is?" referring to the dude that's using the phone. Sue continuous"he said that i was such a hysterical and pathetic girlfriend that calls him every five minutes" Meanwhile mike is so relaxed talking on the phone and suddenly he almost drops it. Amanda's reaction is "Men" and Sue thinks that she is talking about her ex and says"I know, only men would do that" there's a brief pause and says angry"Jerk".  Mike opens a bag of chips and starts to eat them, with his dirty fingers he touches the phone and continous to eat like a beast (totally disgusting) and Amanda's face expressing is like "What the hell", she is thinking in taking away his chips. Sue is still talking and says "If I could only"... and Amanda finishes the sentences with "beat him up and smash them so hard" (reffering to Mike and his chips). Sue's responds is "WOW, that a little to agressive, I mean I was thinking in slapping him..Amanda interrups and says "But he so.... and Sue finishes her sentence with "CUTE"thinking is her ex (she says that in the exact moment where Mike is talking on the phone with his mouth full of chips, NOT CUTE), suddenly Amanda realizes that Sue is not reffering to Mike and she say" Sue what the hell are you talking about?" and Sue says " I'm talking about my ex and how despite everything he's cute. Amanda responds "WHAT" "I was talking about the dude that took away my brand new phone and is using it like a beast".  The two friend have a confusing expressing on their faces when Mike come closer and says "there is your phone girl" and he kinds of walks away and quickly come back saying"ohh, i almost forget, it's OUT OF BATTERY, OOOOPPS, you  need to charge it" and he leaves. Amanda's face is like "WHAT THE HELL", she quickly stands up and does some movements showing her anger.
THE END

Amelie Shots & Text Analysis

In Amelie's film the shooting and the camera work is amazing; it's based on classic shots, but it also introduces new or not often shots/concepts. An example of a classic shot is OTS, and also when the camera is on the floor the audience sees both, her feet and other character or characters. Another factor that makes this film so good is the use of lighting; the lighting is a very powerful tool that transports the audience into the setting. The lights are well placed and are not so bright that create an unreal environment, on the contrary it's perfect that give the idea of where they (characters) are. Overall I think these classic shots help the story develop better and include details that the audience might like because they are impeccable and have a good quality in work and on screen.

 In the this shot the audience sees the character in an unusual angle that contributes to above topic. However, this shot is only the beginning of the following which will have effects just live in other scenes.

 The whole story is about Amelie, a young woman that helps people to resolve their problems and unexpectedly finds love and will try to be happy. The way the story develops is weird/ bizarre  because the characters' actions are unusual and the audience is not used to that ideas or thoughts. Also the film shows strong sex scenes that could be consider unnecessary. Sex is always controversial and probably because of that the director decided to use it. In my personal opinion i think it was a risky decision to make, but it was worth the risk because the reaction of the audience was favorable. Every character had different phases that the actors performed very well. An example is Amelie, her first scene was as a kid and obviously grew up, but besides that when she started to help people to resolve their lives she experienced beautiful and not so beautiful feelings that  made her realize it was time to help herself and obtain her own happiness.

One of the things I loved about the camera work was the way they moved the camera towards the object or focus point. They did not just zoomed in, they slowly moved the camera and at the same time they moved it with a turn of 180 degrees. A great example of this is the bag on the floor and how the camera gets closer and and shows different angles as its getting closer. This work camera is so perfect, it's pretty  much is the same longitude as longitude in every single shot of the scene.

  

A remarkable idea in this film is the eye-looks; the audience can actually feel like they are seeing  through the characters' eyes. The following image shows it, when Amelie is returning the photo album and he is on the top of some tourist place where he's seeing through a gazebo. The shot shows the exactly what he is seeing and how he's seeing it. Also there aren't too many CU, but I think it's because there is no need of them. The CU that are shown are necessary in order to imply something such as strong emotions or details of characters' actions. This CU of the man's finger trying to call his mother shows perfectly that he's pressing the bottom that says mother.

Personally I found that the creative part of this film is the most interesting and amazing. During the movie there are many shots that have pretty good effects that convert it into a spectacular film. My favorite shot is the one on the left; it's very complex. It has a combination of reality and illusion, all in one shot. I don't know who created it, but i suppose it took time and patience because it's very detailed and one of the more important shots of the film, it resolves the mystery of who is the man in the photo album that appears so often. And just like this shot, there are many other creative shots that are well done.

Adding to creative shots, the one on the right is very emotional. This shot happens after she  communicates with her love and then he leaves and she feels down without him. I've never seen this effect before and I think it's pretty cool because it perfectly expresses the character's feelings.

Overall, I think that the movie was good even though it had a bizarre and strong concept about life and people's actions. The shots were great along with the effects, and the story expressed unexplored emotions with unusual actions and believes. I suppose French people can relate more with the movie than Americans, however the power of films bring people together and certainly AMELIE was no exception.