Bringing up Baby

I personally thought the director of this movie, Howard Hawks, did a great job with the overall photography this movie needed, to be considered a romantic comedy. With this movie being produced in 1938, theres no question that this movie's photography was nothing less than marveled about. I also thought that Hawks did a great job at showing contrast between the characters, though his way of photography so the audience can better understand everything that is going on. Without this movie's sense of photography, theres no doubt this movie would have been as susessful as it was, for it's time.

I also noticed that the role of photography in this movie was quite different than other movies during it's time. Unlike other movies, the use of photography added contrast to the ever changing plot that this movie so desired for. I believe that it's through this way of photography, is why comedy like this is so sucessful.

The Story of the Weeping Camel

For this blog entry, I chose to watch a foreign documentary titled The Story of the Weeping Camel by Byambasuren Davaa and cowritten with Luigi Falorni. The movie is originally Mongolian but has several different subtitles to pick from. Though this movie was directed by Davaa, the film's main cinematographer is Falorni.

I was very impressed with the wonderful job Falorni did filming with just a handheld and Stedi-Cam. I did not initially know this until I read an article on Falorni about what equipment and techniques he used in this film. It demonstrates how you can make a great film from something so simple and affordable. Something that I had noticed since the beginning of the film is that Falorni made the takes no shorter than 10 or 20 seconds usually. I personally thought that Falorni did a great job with having longer takes since the movie was done in that nature of filming. This way of filming also adds constrast to the story in a positive way.

Another unique way of adding realism to the story was having all diegetic sounds. Falorni did this since he pictured the movie as being a documentary, and it was in his best interest to have all diegetic sounds utilized in the film. This technique added realism along with the long takes in the film.

In another article that I read, it said that Falorni wanted to shoot the movie in a way that would display "a story of salvation." I personally thought that was interesting because even though there was hardly any talking in the movie, you could still relate to the story of salvation through the images alone. In my opinion, that is what makes this movie so well done; the cinematography speaks for itself.

With this movie being a narrative documentary, all of the story was done withrestricted narration. Though some parts of the movie have different points of view, Falorni still wanted restricted narration done.

Though most of the movie was done with either handheld or Stedi-Cam, I personally felt Falorni did a remarkable job in capturing the organic realism behind the story. If this movie was done on expensive equipment, it would not add any extra dimension to the overall meaning behind this story. This is what separates Falorni from so many other directors in my opinion.

Overall I thought that this film was very well done for being a foreign film and for being filmed in the location where it was. It was through Falorni's unique way of capturing images on the camera that truly separated this film from so many other films that I have seen. I personally recommend this movie to anyone who has the time to view it.

My Darling Clementine

For my blog entry on My Darling Clementine, I'm going to talk about the significance behind the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. John Ford, the director of this movie, had rising suspense until this perticular scene so it would be much more significant. I personally thought this scene was crutial, because you get to see who the characters really are in the midst of all the chaos.

Overall, I truely thought this scene in the movie was necessary so the viewer can better understand the plot, which at times was confusing in my opinion. I also think this scene, and the events leading up to it, acts as a destinct finale for the sucess of this movie. In conclusion, I thought this scene was very important in the general meaning behind the film.

Citizen Kane

For my blog entry, I decided to talk about the various camera angles used in this film that helped emphasize characters, and places. The first angle I had often noticed, is that Kane was viewed usually from a low angle, while the other person he was talking to would be viewed from a high angle. This way of filming made Kane look significantly more powerful than the other person he was talking too. This angle alone helps the viewer feel how important Kane truely is in the story.

Another angle that Welles was famous for was the long tracking shot that went through the neon sign, and had eventually focused in on Susan. This shot is important because it shows how innovative Welles' way of filming is, in not just this scene, but the entire movie.

Overall, I thought that Welles had put alot of thought into the major sucess of this movie, by simply coming up with ways the camera could be used to it's advantage.