blog 8

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 

The theme of this and the entire Harry Potter series is that love can conquer anything and that even in the face of absolute hopelessness, hope can still come.  Neville in this scene talks about that.  He says that even though Harry is gone all is not lost.  The theme is actively communicated in the dialogue of Neville.

The video uses shape to show the shift of power.  At the beginning of the scene, Neville is in a wide shot and Voldemort is in a close up shot.  As the scene progresses and Neville stands up for himself he becomes bigger in the frame.  Neville in this scene represents hope, and this action of making him bigger portrays the theme of a growing hope.  There is also a contrast between the two sides.  The Hogwarts people are all wearing civilian clothes.  On the other side there is an affinity between the death eaters in that all of their clothes are the same.

Space is demonstrated through tension and release.  The tension builds all throughout the scene.  It builds when the death eaters laugh at Voldemort’s words.  This also gives the area a sense of depth and space given that it is echo-like.  The tension is released once Harry comes alive and and rushes back to the castle.  Again, here we see space utilized well.  The spells have to travel very far and the explosions are farther away, giving a sense of large space.

Blog 7

The colors of these two characters are what defines them and sets them apart.  Frozone, the character on the left, has the super power of controlling ice.  Ice is cold and so are both blue and white.  the blue is vivid against the white and gives him that chilly feel.  The white is very desaturated, but the saturated hue of the blue makes Frozone pop.  He is a good character and therefore has bright colors.  Syndrome, the character on the right, is the villain of the movie and therefore black is appropriate.  Also, he is very skilled with mechanics and the black gives a greasy "worker" vibe.  The white on his chest gives him some life, but the very dark hue of the black is what makes this character so sinister.

Light is used to show that Frozone is good and Syndrome is bad.  Frozone is bright and well lit, giving him a happy and comfortable feel.  Syndrome is dark and sinisterly lit with shadows.  The shadows are so important in adding depth to the characters.  Frozone's lack of shadows implies that he is not hiding anything, while Syndrome's shadow covers half his face making people be wary of him.  The Symbols of the blue representing ice and the black representing evil give each character a specific mood that they convey.  Frozone conveys a cool and happy mood where as Syndrome gives and uneasy mood to the audience.

Blog Assignment 6

The director did follow the 180-degree rule.  The first shot of Hugh Jackman has him on the right side of the screen.  Then we cut to Christian Bale on the left side looking where Hugh just was.  This is how the 180-degree rule works.  It makes sure that the camera is positioned in a way that makes cutting easy for a viewer to understand.  If one was to super-impose one shot onto another, then they would have the characters looking at one another.  When the camera cuts to the girl in the glass box, it is still following the 180-degree rule.  The camera start behind the box, on the side furthest from where Hugh Jackman was standing, then cuts to the front on that same side.  This is the most important part.  This ensures that 180 is not broken and that the audience is able to understand where the characters are positioned.  It is a subconscious thing, but one that is so important.  If the director did not follow this rule then the audience would be distracted from the important parts of the scene.

            The rule of thirds is followed throughout.  Both Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale’s eye lines are on the upper third.  Christian is on the left third and Hugh is on the right.  The first shot from behind the woman in the tank she is on the upper left third.  The reverse angle is on the upper right.

            Both rules of 30 are followed.  No cut is a jump cut.  Following the 30-degree rule ensures this.  The 30-degree rule means that the camera must move more than 30-degrees in order to avoid a jump cut.  The camera cuts back and forth at angles much greater than thirty degrees, allowing the characters to be far enough away on the screen that the scene is very understandable.  This first hot cuts from a medium shot and then cuts to a close up.  This follows the 30% rule and makes sure that the camera cuts to a shot that is at least two sizes away.  This is not necessarily necessary in this instance, however, because the camera cuts to a different subject. 

Blog Assignment 5

 Pumped Up Kicks- Foster the People

 Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ&ob=av3e

Cover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXjUNd_eV3Y

Both of these songs are very similar, but there are a few defining factors that really make the original stick out against the cover.  First of all, the lyrics themselves are the same.  The cover version does not take any liberties with the words, and I agree with this decision.  The words are what give the songs their meaning and they can be tricky to change.  The voices, however, are very different.  The female voices in the cover are in stark contrast to the male voice of the original.  They have completely different tones.  

The melodies are similar, but do have some differences.  A big difference is the loop station that is used in the original.  The sounds from that, especially at the beginning, are so definable and what makes this song unique.  The cover does not duplicate them so it does change to melody a little bit.

Rhythmically the two are identical.  The same drum pace is used, and the guitar in the cover keeps the same pace as the bass in the original.  The original has a bit more intensity that the cover, but the female voices in the cover make it have a higher pitch than the original.  The timbre in the original is much more complex than the cover.  This is mainly because of the greater amount of instruments used in the original.