Josh

How did LB Jefferies break his leg? He was at a racing event for his photography career and broke his legs in an accident.     What is the significance of always being in Jefferies’ window? To relate with the character. We see everything from his perspective and start to feel the inability to move.     Would Jeffries have caught Lars if he wasn’t injured and in his wheelchair? Why or why not? No. He catches Lars only because of his injury. If he wasn’t injured, Jeffries would have not been looking out the window.     How would your perception of the story change if the camera moved without Jeffries? In other words, if we saw more of the action without seeing through Jeffries' lens, what might change? The film is a character study of Jeffries in my opinion. If the camera moved it would be more of a thriller or different genre of story.   How does the movie portray social norms and gender roles in the 50s? People in the 50s would get married at a much hi...

  What is new for you?   Because I have never taken a film course, almost all of the material was new for me. I jotted down notes, here’s what was new:   Cinematic Language   Movies are a series of still images, at least 24 per second . The brain interprets that as movement, illusion of movement , or beta movement .   Shots : the basic building blocks. Could last second, minutes or hours, basically everything from when director calls action to when they call cut.   Editing : arranges shots into patterns that make scenes, sequences, and acts. It’s like how words then get combined into sentences and paragraphs.   Cinematic language : a set of rules and conventions by which cinema communicates meaning to the viewer. This can evolve over time.   Visual lexicon : images, angles, transitions, camera moves, lighting style, color palette that we all understand mean something. Like how a weird camera angle could signal danger. Viewers aren’t really suppose...

Write a brief reflection on famous shots from films that have stayed with you.   Name the film, year, and director.   Then, describe the shot.   What is it doing?   Why does it work?   How might it have been rendered differently?   How would you shoot it?     1. Luke Battles Darth Vader   Name the film, year, and director : The Empire Strikes Back, 1980, Director Irvin Kershner   Describe the shot : it’s a medium-range shot showing Luke and Darth crossing swords     What is it doing ? It is one of the climax scenes in the movie, good versus evil   Why does it work ? It works because of the lighting and framing. The characters are silhouetted, there’s smoke/fog, and the lightsabers pop out.   How might it have been rendered differently ? These days, too many movies would just show the characters in full light (explicitly) versus the implicit way this shot was framed.   How would you shoot it ? I think it would be ...