How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

In this topic, we have studied La Haine, a french film from 1995 directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. This film uses many different technical codes, one of which is the mise-en-scene. In La Haine, the mise-en-scene is very significant towards the message that is conveyed in the film. An example of this is when each of the protagonists are introduced, such as when Said is first introduced, he graffiti's on a police van the phrase 'Said fucks the police', which he writes in Arabic. This clearly represents his own personal identity, because he writes his own name and in his own language. This technique is also used when Vinz is introduced, there is a close-up of his ring with his name on like the rappers in the USA, showing how Vinz has been influenced by western culture, which is also shown in his room, or 'Chez Vinz' when we see the cannabis poster with the name of the Cypress Hill song "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" on, his collection of western trainers and the picture of Bruce Li on his door. Also, when Hubert is introduced in his burnt down gym, there is a close-up of a match poster containing his name and a picture of him. In the picture, Hubert is holding rosary beads, which implies that he is spiritualistic and that he is clean cut, unlike the other youths presented in the film. The impact of each character having their names clearly shown on-screen implies how desperate each of them is to develop their own identity as opposed to just being one of the foreigners that live in the projects.

Another part of the mise-en-scene is the constant motif of planet earth. This is first used directly at the start of the film, where we see the earth and hear Hubert's voice talking about jumping off a building and with each floor you pass you say 'so far so good' (Jusqu'ici tout va bien) which is the film's tagline, and then 'its not the fall that kills you, its the landing' and when this line is said, a molotov coctail is thrown at the earth. This is basically saying that the world will burn through the hatred that is spreading across the globe. The earth is also used towards the end of the film when they walk past a billboard that says 'le monde est a vous' (the world is yours) and Said graffitis on the billboard to change it to 'The World Is Ours', which adds a sense of unity to the film, which is the whole moral that the character of Said stands for, Fraternity. The use of the planet is significant of the narrative of the film, which is circular, as they start off in les banlieues (the projects), then catch the train to Paris, and at the premise of the film they arrive back in les banlieues. Les Banlieues are housing projects on the outskirts of paris with a population of roughly 10,000 made up of over 60 different nationalities. These projects were built in order to try and incorporate and 'assimilate' different cultures into Parisian life, although in fact they caused the adverse affect because the media stereotyped the projects as areas of urban deprivation, crime and drug use.

Another technique that is also used to signify the same message of the earth is the 360 degree pan shot. This shot is used in the 'Chez Vinz' scene to establish some background knowledge of Vinz's character. This type of shot, coupled with the motif of the earth and the film's circular narrative are all significant of the moral that the earth is in a constant loop, and that no matter what happens it will keep spinning. This shows that all of our lives are worthless because we have no real impact on the way that the world works, but also the fact that no matter how hard those in poverty try to change their lives and make themselves better off, they will be forever stuck in a never-ending cycle and will not be able to pull themselves away from their poor and miserable lives.

Auteur Theory Annotated Catalogue

A great deal of Quentin Tarantino's work contains homage to films that influenced him, can this aspect make him an Auteur?

Films:

Item 1- Reservoir Dogs (1992)

This is Tarantino's first feature length film that were both written and directed (and acted in) by himself. Reservoir Dogs is a cult crime film, focusing on the aftermath of a bank robbery where everything that could have gone wrong does go wrong. This film has been chosen because some say that it is a loose remake of the 1987 crime drama City on Fire, however he has added his own elements to it. This is evidence both for and against his Auteuristic tendencies, as although he has copied the style of a previous film, he has also added his own style to it.

Item 2- Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)

The first volume of the Kill Bill duo is Quentin Tarantino's fourth feature film, focusing on "the Bride" (Uma Thurman) after a gang of killers that she used to work with murders everyone at the rehearsal of her wedding, so she decides to act out her revenge. I have included this film due to the fact that it contains homage to many of the works that impacted upon Tarantino, such as many kung-fu films, spaghetti westerns, Japanese samurai, gang and anime films, plus imagery and sounds that can be linked to western horrors. However, due to the fact that Tarantino has incorporated many different genres into this film, it is clear why he can be considered an auteur.

Item3- Inglorious Basterds (2009)

I have included this film because the title is a homage to the 1978 film 'The Inglorious Bastards' it is completely unrelated to this film as the storyline and narrative are completely different, despite both being set in WWII. Also, this film contains some homage to his influencing work, it does not contain anywhere near as much as my focus films.

Magazines:

Item 4- Total Fim Magazine Kill Bill: Volume 1 Review

This article has been included as it gives a fair analysis of the film and identifies much of the work that aided QT when he produced Kill Bill.

Books:

Item 5- Quintessential Tarantino- Page, Edwin (2005)

this book has been included in my catalogue because it has separate chapters for each film, each of which contain reference to the work that Tarantino has homaged in his films.

Item 6- Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers (Tarantino Section)- White, Glyn (2002)

I have included this in my catalogue, due to the fact that within this section it references much of the work that influenced Tarantino and talks about his odd but individualistic style, which is dissimilar to the style of any other director/auteur.

Internet:

Item 7- http://whatculture.com/film/quentin-tarantino-definitive-guide.php/

This webpage has been included in this catalogue, because it gives clear analysis of the homages embedded within Tarantino's work and what films these pay homage to.



Item 8- http://wallstcheatsheet.com/entertainment/7-killer-movies-that-inspired-quentin-tarantino.html/?a=viewall

This piece has been included so that I can also begin to analyse not only Tarantino's work but also the works that inspired him.

Videos:

Item 9- http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-movies-kill-bill-pays-homage-to-video

This video is crucial in helping me with my analysis of the work that kill bill pays homage to, as it shows how 'everything is a remix', therefore highlighting the fact that kill bill is just a remix of other director's work.

Item 10- Quentin Tarantino: A Life In Pictures

This interview has been included as it gives a detailed review of Tarantino's life as a film maker and also as an avid film fan, therefore it will help me analyse his inspiring works.

DVD Commentaries:

Item 11- Kill Bill DVD Commentary

Images

Item 12-http://levonbiss.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Levon-Biss_Quentin-Tarantino_071212-2890_V1.jpg

Item 13-http://www.ronlim.com/worldarchive/tarantinoimages/ripoff.jpg

Item 14-http://inthekan.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Kill_Bill_1_757.jpg

Item 15- http://www.formantera.com/files/6113/9856/3964/kill_bill.jpg

Rejected Sources:

Item - Django Unchained (2012)

Django Unchained is the eighth film written and directed by Tarantino. This western is unlike any western before, about a freed slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) who, with the help of a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), attempts to free his wife from brutal plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio) This film has been included in my catalogue because it pays homage to Sergio Corbucci's 1966 film 'Django' and also acts as a homage to the whole Spaghetti Western sub-genre of films, as this type of film pays much influence to most, if not all of his work, due to how he incorporates references to westerns within many films.

Item- http://www.prometheusforum.net/discussion/4600/is-tarantino-a-thief-or-does-he-pay-homage-to-other-films/p1

I have not included this website in my catalogue because although it contains many valid points on either side of the argument, it is a forum page, therefore anyone can contribute toward it and it could be made up of completely irrelevant points to my question, as it is mainly made up of opinion.

Item- Empire Magazine Reservoir Dogs Review

This article has not been included in my final catalogue due to the fact that it does not reference any of the work that influenced tarantino and that is what my final essay is going to be looking at, therefore there is nothing helpful embedded within this article.

American Indie film:- Lost in Translation

Bob Harris is an American film actor, far past his prime. He visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte, the young wife of a visiting photographer. Bored and weary, Bob and Charlotte make ideal if improbable traveling companions. Charlotte is looking for "her place in life," and Bob is tolerating a mediocre stateside marriage. Both separately and together, they live the experience of the American in Tokyo. Bob and Charlotte suffer both confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences between themselves and the Japanese. As the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan, and one another, must soon end. Or must they?

Writer/Director: Sofia Coppola 
Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Akiko Takeshita, Giovanni Ribisi.
Budget: $4,000,000
Gross Total: £9,865,162
Release date: 3rd October 2003

This film is independent because the writer/director was fairly unknown, due to the fact that prior to this film she had only directed 1 feature length presentation and 2 short films. also the budget of the film is fairly low at $4million. 

This film has won an Oscar for Best Writing, 3 Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture, Best Performance of an Actor- Bill Murray and Best Screenplay. It also won 3 BAFTAs for Best Performance of an Actor- Bill Murray, Best Performance of an Actress- Scarlett Johansson and Best Editing. That is only a few of the awards it has won, and it has had even more nominations for awards.

The Counselor

This film has a well known and respected cast, such as Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Cameron Diaz. It also has a well-known director, as Ridley Scott directs it, who directed Alien and Prometheus. The writer is also respected for films such as No Country for Old Men. This is an example of a big american film, and it is loaded with action. The Counselor is shown in multiplex cinemas all over the globe. This film is about drug smuggling and recently drug related films have become popular.

Aims and Context

• 'Shatter Resistant' 
• film production
• psychological thriller
• short film
• 16-21 year olds
• director, editor and camera operator (shared roles)
• mixture of extreme high-key and low-key lighting

Reflective Analysis

Our task was to make a film sequence consisting of 10 shots. Firstly, were separated into groups of 4/5 people, apart from my group, which was originally only 3 people, who were myself, Jenna and Megan. Because we only had 3 people, Jakob joined our group. We were randomly assigned a genre, and we got Film Noir. The initial stage in the task was to come up with a storyboard for our sequence, where Jakob and me came up with the majority of the sequence while Jenna and Megan drew it onto the storyboards (if done very crudely). The next task was filming the sequence. During this stage, Jenna and Megan did absolutely nothing. Instead of filming they decided to get a coffee, and refused to even control the camera, let alone get in front of it. Because of this, we had to get a random college student to play the part of the femme fatale, and I was the only member of the group that acted in the film, because Jakob was filming most of it. The next part of the task was to edit our sequence, which took place in the following lesson, to which neither Jenna nor Megan turned up to, leaving Jakob and me to do the entire thing. It was the first time either me or Jakob had used editing software, but I think it went well and our sequence was surprisingly good considering there were 2 crewmembers when the other groups had 4. J

The Shining:- Room 237 scene and Ending Photo scene

     The scene opens with a long shot of room 237. The mise-en-scene in this scene consists of beige walls, a green and blue swirl patterned carpet and lilac sofas. The lighting is high key, which seems abnormal for a film of the horror genre, and allows you to see everything that is happening. The camera pans 180 degrees, revealing an open door, leading into the bedroom. The camera is handheld, and moves through the door. The bedroom has the same colour scheme, but the bed has a black sheet with silver zigzags on it there is a door at the back of the room which is slightly ajar. This is the only scene in the film where the colour red is not used. This could be due to the fact that red is associated with meaning danger, whereas green and blue mean safety and trust, so it is as if what’s in the room is trying to lure people into the room, so they can injure them. The black sheets, however, imply death, evil and mystery. This relates to the dead people in the hotel, the evil presences and the mystery of what’s in the room with them. The fact that so far in the scene we haven’t seen who’s perspective we are seeing this from makes me intrigued, and makes me want to find out who it is, but also what’s in the room. The camera continues to move through the bedroom, and approaches the bathroom door. A hand emerges on the left of the screen, and pushes the door open.  We now have a full view of the bathroom, which is mostly green, continuing the false sense of security. There is a rule of thirds, with the bath at the back of the bathroom directly in the middle of the scene. The shower curtain is drawn exactly halfway. Although the green should suggest security, I don’t feel secure. The scene actually suggests that something bad is going to happen, rather than security. There is a cut to a mid shot of Jack, who looks shocked or awe struck. There is then an eye line match cut, which takes us back to the previous view of the bathroom. We can see a figure bathing in the bath. The figure pulls back the curtain, revealing it to be a naked, young looking woman. There is another cut to Jack who smiles eagerly. Another cut takes us back to the image of the bathroom, where the woman starts to stand up in the bath. The cut to Jack this time reveals he is still smiling smugly. The woman steps out of the bath, and the non-diagetic music suddenly increases as she does so, creating tension. There is another cut, which shows that Jack looks even smugger than before, and the cut back to the bathroom shows her walking towards the camera and she stops in the middle of the room. Currently, I feel confused as to whom this woman is, but also I get the gut feeling that this isn’t going to bode well. Jack starts walking towards the woman, who looks directly at him. They stand still, staring at each other for a few seconds, until they suddenly start touching each other and passionately kissing. There is a close up on both of their faces, but Jack’s face is more visible, and he looks like he’s enjoying it more than her.

    This scene opens with a long shot of ‘The Gold Room’ which is featured frequently throughout the film, and is the bar that Jack visits to get away with his family problems. The song ‘Midnight, The Stars and You’ is playing non-diagetically throughout the scene. The mise-en-scene in this scene is red pillars on both sides of the screen, almost bordering it, furniture covered in white tarp on each side, and gold curtains on the doors of the gold room. There is a sign saying ‘The Gold Room’ to the right of the door. The scene is almost symmetrical, which makes the scene look well made. The camera zooms slowly, revealing more about the mise-en-scene as it does so. As it zooms, the rule of thirds is used throughout the scene, first the curtain splits it into thirds, then the door. In the background, we can see 21 black and white pictures, these become more and more visible as the camera zooms in. Each picture has been hung perfectly, and all of the gaps between them are the same size, making the scene look neat. The camera keeps zooming, and only stops when there is an close up on the picture directly in the centre. The picture is of the guests of a ball in the gold room of the overlook hotel, but something seems off about this picture. There is then a cut, which takes us to an extreme close up of the picture, and we can now see the guests more clearly. Here, we notice that directly in the middle on the front row of people, is Jack Torrence. This confused me slightly, and made me wonder if Jack may have visited the overlook hotel before. Then, there is a cut to an even more extreme close up of Jack’s face in the picture. He is smiling and waving at the camera, with that creepy smile that the character is known for. His eyes seem to pierce into your soul, and he’s happy about that. The camera then tilts downwards, revealing the caption at the bottom of the picture. It reads: ‘Overlook Hotel, July 4^th Ball, 1921’. The camera stays on this briefly, then fades to black as the film ends. At this point, I think that this is impossible, because the film is set in the 1970s, so the character of Jack Torrence probably wouldn’t have even been born at that point in time, so surely he can’t be at a ball that happened over 50 years ago, not looking a day younger than in the rest of the film. Personally, I think this was a good way to end a film like this, with a plot twist that just destroys everything you thought you knew about the film, and it is a good way to mess with the viewer’s mind.