Scene Analysis Blog - The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines

Baptism scene analysis (00:13:43 – 00:15:43)

Camera work and framing:

The scene begins with a long establishing shot of Jason (Luke’s son) at the church altar for baptism with his mother Romina, and stepfather figure Kofi. The shot clearly portrays the three as a family unit, also establishing the priest and members of the parish as part of a larger, extended family or community. Suddenly, Luke steps into the frame, located dramatically in the foreground, he is visible only from thigh to knee. As Luke steps into the frame, the camera auto focuses to his presence blurring out Jason, Kofi, Romina, and the rest of the congregation. This immediately reveals to the viewer that Luke is not part of this family and does not belong. Due to his placement in the foreground, Luke appears enormous compared to everyone else in the scene, which makes him seem threatening and imposing. Luke wishes to be a part of Jason and Romina’s lives, but even though he means well, his presence there is a threat to their well-being.

The next shot is a close up of Kofi standing in as a father figure, and holding Jason, while a priest pours holy water over his head. Then the film cuts back to a long shot of Luke sitting down in some pews in the back of the church. The length of the shot allows for his surroundings to be captured in the frame and the viewer can see that there is no one else near him. He is distant and alone.

After that, the camera moves back to a close up on Jason surrounded by Kofi, Romina, and the Priest. This is his family. The next shot is from a similar distance but focuses on Luke, who is situated in the frame, very similarly to Jason in the previous shot. However, there is only emptiness surrounding Luke in this shot, no family or support. This shot holds for a long time, while the congregation prays an Our Father, and finally Luke begins to cry, the tears that roll down his face matching the holy water that was pour over Jason’s head only a moment before.

The entire scene works very hard to portray the solidifying of Jason’s family, and depicting Luke as an outsider looking in. All of the shots that focus on Luke contain a great deal of empty surrounding space to accentuate that he is alone, while the shots that focus on Jason are consistently filled with other people. The scene is also playing with the idea of a father focusing on Luke’s distance from his son Jason and Kofi’s close proximity to Jason, while the theme of the God the father is consistently present in the dialogue and location of the scene. 

SERPICO BRASCO

SERPICO BRASCO from Dan Lofaso on Vimeo.

EXTRA CREDZ ~ UNO: Nam June Paik - Becoming Robot

The works of Nam June Paik were bold, relevant, and conceptually playful. In observing the world around him, Paik latched on to the exponentially developing field of technology, and was able to grow alongside it as an artist. His body of work stands as an insightful counter-melody to the evolution of technology, as he examined the relationship between human beings, culture, and up-to-date tech. His ideas and works were visibly inspired by a comparison of the natural body and machine, as well as the relationship between the simultaneous development of technology and human thought and culture. 

            A great portion Paik’s work was video art, as he experimented with camera use, editing, sound, and technological presentation, which allows for a critique of his work in the context of filmmaking.

In terms of his camera use, Paik’s work has a very raw and natural feel. Many of his works were filmed with a messy handheld approach. Some of his camera work is very shaky, moving around the subject with quick jerky motions and utilizing jarring zooms (both in and out). Nam’s collaborative works with Charlotte Moorman were very intimate in nature and were comprised almost entirely of close ups and extreme close ups. Paik used this raw form of shooting to capture images that usually involved the human body (more often than not, in the nude). This style of shooting and subject matter constructed the natural component of Paik’s two-part commentary (technology and the natural human being).

The technological component of Nam June Paik’s works was developed through his use of cameras, monitors, microphones, and other devices, as well as his use of very artificial style of editing (also achieved through technology). This editing included split screens, looping, color distortions, and a multi-layering of transparent, super-imposed images. These effects took the natural subject of the human body and manhandled it in an overtly technological manner.

GUMSHOE: interesting video i found and such

Gumshoe from Matt Steinauer on Vimeo.

A Night at Minnesota's

Museum of the Moving Image - Special Effects

Museum of the Moving Image:

Special Effects

           

            The Museum of the Moving Image was an extremely interesting and educational place. There was plenty to learn from each and every exhibit on the tour. However, the part that interested me the most was the special effects exhibit. Firstly, I was extremely impressed with the artistic work that went onto each physical effect prop, be it the miniature skyscraper from Blade Runner, the puppet Yoda, the robotic wolves, and everything else. I have always preferred physical special effects to computer-generated effects. I must admit that computer effects have come a long way, and that they undoubtedly allow filmmakers to achieve cinematic feats that could never be possible with physical props. Still, I have always felt that physical effects should be used whenever possible because, though they may not look 100% real, they exist in the same world as the actors and sets, and this offers a certain unity to the final product.

            The special effects props on display at the museum were created in an extremely professional manner, with the utmost attention paid to detail. Many of them looked almost real, even in person. However, the key word there is almost, and what I found most interesting about the use of physical special effects was how much thought and work filmmakers put into filming these props so that they would look as real as possible within the final product. Each effect element was filmed at specific distances, angles, and lightings so that its most realistic elements were highlighted, while its flaws were downplayed or avoided. After filming, editing was shown to play a huge part in the effects process. Each scene was edited in a way where the shot hung on the specific prop only long enough to convey the idea or image that the director desired, and then these shots were cut into sequences with other shots. This allowed the audience to get a sense of the scene, using everything that the film offered them, to connect the dots in their head.

When I Make My Ears Listen:

When I Make My Ears Listen:

 

            I hit the streets regularly at six o’clock in the morning, but do not mistake me for a morning person. A seven to three hospital shift demands an early bedtime and early awakening. I have yet to master the former, but I do make a point of getting up on time. This morning I cut my self shaving, shampooed twice, and struggled through a breakfast of terribly made coffee and the end of a sleeve of Ritz crackers that I’d neglected to put away the night before. Needless to say, I don’t necessarily function at peak levels this early, but I worked very hard to focus my ears as I walked out onto a brisk and windy 20^th street.

            There aren’t many people out and about at six in the morning, but the first thing I hear is the rapid rhythm of footsteps behind me. The morning jogger is the only individual that I’m guaranteed to meet each day. Her breathing is heavy, a counter argument to the rhythm of her footsteps. A third counter beat escapes softly from her headphones. She turns the corner and is gone.

            Along the empty side roads of an early morning, you can hear a car approaching from surprisingly far away. It begins as some sort of gentle buzzing, gradually getting louder as it approaches. Finally it swooshes past, with a clear disregard for speed limits. A bike squeaks by, gliding against the traffic on the wrong side of a two way street. A parking garage attendant speaks rapid, mumbled Spanish into his cell phone. He offers a friendly nod as I pass.

            The trees and wind make more sounds than I’ve ever noticed, as maintain unsteady conversation in long rolling whispers. The light chirps of small bird pop up here and there. As I approach the main street of 1^st Avenue motor-vehicle noises swell. One motorcycle rides by, without a muffler its engine screams. The driver of a large Budweiser delivery truck cannot resist the urge to honk his thunderous horn at 6:10 as a yellow taxi almost cuts him off. The taxi’s retort involves a far less threatening, but still obnoxiously loud horn. What a bunch of assholes. A modern nomad pushes a creaky cart down the uneven sidewalk. Everything he own sits in that cart, including a radio that produces a static rendition of something soulful, rescued from the 70’s.