Acting and Acting Styles

Furious Seven

[Identify three actors from your film and classify each according to the types of actors listed in your text.]

Vin Diesel – Personality Actor

Paul Walker – Star

Jason Statham – Personality Actor

[Explain your reasons for classifying the actors as you do. Use specific references to the film and pay special attention to how these decisions impacted characterization. Also, consider the impact of any realistic or stylized portrayals within the film.]

Vin Diesel is characterized as a personality actor.  This is due to him playing similar styles of roles in most of his career (fast and furious franchise). Vince Diesel playing the character Dominic Toretto which is a basic role.  I believe his role was vital in the film, but he could easily be replaced with another actor with a similar style.

Paul Walker is characterized as a star. I chose this characterization due Walkers various movie roles and styles.  I believe his role in the film was instrumental to its success, pretty much without Walker there is no franchise.

Jason Statham is characterized as a personality actor.  Statham never comes out of his comfort zone and in doing this he plays the same role over and over again.  This leaves the audience entertained if that’s what they enjoy, but it also leaves them wanting more.  Maybe if Statham stepped out into a different role, then he would become star status. Instead of me never remembering his characters name  (Goodykoonze, B.& Jacobs, C, 2014).

[Focus on one of the actors you’ve discussed. Based on other films the actor has been in, would this actor always be placed in the same category? If so, what does this say about the category or actor? If not, what can you infer about the flexibility of these categories? Provide evidence (references from other films, including film clips and stills) to support your argument.]

I will use Jason Statham again for my example.  Statham plays the same role in every movie (witty, action hero/villain).  I think in doing this some directors and movie critics question his talent, seeing him as a one dimensional actor.

This another one of Statham’s films Crank.  In it, he plays a witty, action hero, again continuing his similar role and displaying lack of depth.

References

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Fast & Furious. (2014, November 1). Furious 7 – Official Trailer (HD). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skpu5HaVkOc.

thecultbox. (2010, December 5). Crank (2006) – Official Trailer. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rvYrVTnSWw.

Categories and Functions of Sound

[Describe each of the three basic categories of sound (dialogue, sound effects, and music).]

Dialogue-  basically words used by the characters to engage in conversation to tell a story.

Sound Effects- Sounds used to aid in the telling of a story i.e. gunshots for an action movie, eerie pitches in a horror film, and laugh tracks in a comedy.

Music- background music often used to set the tone of the scene.

[ Explain how the different categories of sound are being used in your chosen film.] 

I chose the film Sinister, in this film perfectly displays all three aspects of sound. It uses basic dialogue when talking to other characters and when thinking out loud. Next, it uses sound effects like eerie dramatic sound changes for suspense. Finally, it uses music mostly classical music to really get the creepy feeling across.

 [Assess the impact of sound in establishing the theme.]

All three different sounds make the movie come together, almost like a jigsaw puzzle. Without all three present, the movie would not flow as well as it does. All three elements of sound help in establishing the them of a horror movie. This is done by simple dialogue, spooky sound effects, and frightening music.

[How does the use of sound inform the mood of the scene, or the film overall?]

The sound informs the mood of the scene by putting the viewer in the same mood as the character (frightened, nervous, or happy).

[Can you identify specific sounds in your film that allow you to infer a particular genre?]

Again, the movie can easily be classified as a horror film, this is due to the dramatic cuts in the music and classical background music.  Both of these characteristics are common in the horror genre.

[Since each category of sound may produce a range of effects, how might you characterize the effects in your film? For example, realistic and expected sound effects may have a different effect on a viewer than exaggerated or unexpected ones.]

In Sinister, it has a lot of suspenseful scenes, that being said it uses exaggerated sounds. This is used to get the audience into the correct state of mind.

[Assess how the scene or sequence would play differently if you changed or removed a key category of sound].

This movie would be completely different if the sounds were different. Lets say for instance the eerie sounds were taken away, it would leave the movie very dull instead of having your heart constantly racing!

References

Movieclips Trailers. (2012, June 14). Sinister Official Trailer #1 (2012) – Ethan Hawke Horror Movie HD. Retrieved from     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kbQAJR9YWQ.

A Walk to Remember and its use of lighting

The movie I have chosen, is A Walk to Remember.  It falls under the romance/drama genre.  In this film, a popular boy in school gets in trouble and forced to act in a school play(community service) .  There he falls in love with a unlikely girl, which he has made fun of for a while.  As he begins to fall in love with her, he later finds out that she has terminal leukemia.

[Identify the type of lighting used in the film (traditional three-point, high-key, or low-key) and assess the impact of the lighting used to establish the theme.]

In this scene, low key lighting is used to get that seriousness/sadness point across.  This is used due to nature of the scene, the female character(Jamie) telling the male character(Landon) that she is scared of dying.

[What are the benefits of the style of lighting used?]

The benefits of using low key lighting is it give the audience an increased understanding of the situation at hand.  It also increases the gloominess of the scene, helping the viewer to get into the correct mindset.

[How did this technique contribute to the theme?]

This technique contributed a major portion to the theme, again it helped the viewer to understand the gloominess and seriousness of her situation (terminal leukemia).

[How was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film? For example, documentary films tend to rely on natural light as a way of creating an overall tone of authenticity.]

This film like many other dramas used low key lighting to sway the viewer’s mood to that of a dreary one.

[Compare how the scene would play if different choices had been made]

If the cinematographer would have used high key lighting, he would of changed the scene completely.  The audience would be left confused and the point would not be put across.  The audience may have even been turned off to the entire movie.  But with low key lighting, the cinematographer easily got the audience into the correct mindset.

References

Goodykoontz, B., Jacobs, C. P. (2014). FILM: FROM WATCHING TO SEEING (2^nd ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG225.14.1/sections/copyright.

Nisithpranshu. (2009, August 9). Walk to remember scene.. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPe_DjNMzSo.

The Lion King Blog Week 1 Intro To Film

[1. Select a full-length film and identify the title, writer, director, major actors and the year it was released.]

Title: The Lion King

Writer: Irene Mecchi & Jonathan Roberts

Director: Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff

Year: 1994

Actors:

Jonathan Taylor-Thomas (Voice of Young Simba)

Matthew Broderick (Voice of Adult Simba)

James Earl Jones (Voice of Mufasa)

Jeremy Irons (Voice of Scar)

Moira Kelly (Voice of Adult Nala)

Ernie Sabella (Voice of Pumbaa)

Nathan Lane (Voice of Timon)

Robert Guillaume (Voice of Rafiki)

[2. Summarize the story and plot of your chosen movie.]

The Lion King is a classic from my childhood, this is the reason I chose this film as my topic.

Story: A life of a Cub (Simba) as he goes through many trials and tribulations to reach his rightful place as King (Protagonist) . While the aggressor Scar tries by every means to take that away from (Antagonist).

Plot: A young cub Simba is small and care free, he is fathered by a wise and noble King, Mufasa.  His father is fair and trying to teach his son leadership qualities, so one day he can pass down the responsibilities as king.

Scar’s (antagonist) Simba’s evil uncle is trying his best to take that away from Simba by destroying his family the best he can.  He manages to start a stampede, by doing this Simba’s Father Mufasa ends up protecting his son and having no regard for his own safety. Mufasa is dead and Scar knowing that Simba is young and naïve, he manages to convince him that his father’s death is his own fault and he should leave his pride.

While alone and saddened by his past Simba makes strange friends Timon and Pumbaa, these friends strange but wise, teach Simba to forget about his past.  Around this time, Adult Simba bumps into an old friend Nala, who tells him of the difficult and horrid times the kingdom is facing due to Scar’s reign.

Simba rises up to occasion with the help of his friends and a wise mentor Rafiki.  Rafiki teaches Simba to not be so hard on himself and that his father’s spirit lives inside of him.  With this newfound knowledge, Simba uses it to take back his rightful place as king.

[3. Discuss whether your film is presented chronologically or non-linearly.  In your discussion, address the following:]

a. Was the film presented chronologically or non-linearly? How did this aesthetic choice contribute to the general effect on the audience?]  

Chronology: The Lion King was presented chronologically, by doing this it helped the audience get a better understanding of the characters and storyline.

[ b. How are elements like character development or foreshadowing impacted by the choice of storytelling methods?]

The story being told chronologically, helped the audience  to view Simba’s progression as a cub to an adult and learning valuable morals along the way.

[4. If the film had followed a different presentation style, how would the general effect on the audience have been different?]

If the film would of been presented non-linearly, the audience would not have experienced Simba’s upbringing, and with that the many trials he experienced and overcame.  Also, I believe it would of left the audience confused and uninterested.

Resources:

TWCfilmevoultion. (2009, November 11). The Lion King (1994) Trailer. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0fReuRs890.

The Lion King. Dir. Roger Allers. Perf. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones. Disney, 1994. DVD.