Film Review 2 - Forrest Gump

In 1995, Forrest Gump won Academy Awards for
Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture

Over the last few weeks I have watched more than my fair share of films and television programmes but by far my most favourite film I watched was Forrest Gump. I watched this film three or four times and I've watched numerous times before that. It's about the life of a man called Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) and it just illustrates the extraordinary events that happened in his life and how even though they were mostly bad experiences or upsetting, he still carried on going through them. Forrest Gump is considered to be very incapable of using his brain to its full capacity and this is shown through the way he handles certain situations in the film such as the public speech after the Vietnam War.

I like the whole storyline as it illustrates how Forrest is trying to find himself and he is trying to ensure that he lives a normal life despite the fact he is caught up in practically every single major event that happened in and involving America at that time. It is very different to a lot of films as there is no telling what is really going to happen as the film goes on because the scenario's that Forrest finds himself in change very rapidly which means that it is difficult to anticipate anything that could happen five minutes from the point you are watching.

I also like the way in which the producers and director do not use this film to portray Forrest or any of the events as biased either for or against. They don't dwell on the situations even if they are severe such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. This makes the viewer have an open mind when watching this film and considering it is a very different type of film to most, this is the best way to go about watching it. Below is the trailer for Forrest Gump.

Alternative Shots Idea 1

I was looking through some of the music videos that are associated with the type of song I am using and I wanted to see if there were any ideas that I could interpret and produce in my own production. One of these ideas was the idea of a couple at dinner and this appealed to me as I work in a restaurant and thought that I may have the ability to make this work. This would be very good as it would incorporate a better surrounding and would make it seem more realistic than some of my other scene ideas as this would have more people in it rather than just being the two main actors.

The types of shots that would be possible in this would be slightly limited as there is only a limited area where anything can be done and the restaurant itself will not want the filming to disrupt the atmosphere of the restaurant and make the customers feel uncomfortable as this would generate bad business for them. Therefore I would probably try to use more shot reverse shots and use the 180 degree rule when shooting the shots of them sat down for dinner. The restaurant I have in mind does have a step ladder so it may be possible to do high angles shots in some places.

The Video that gave me this idea is shown below and the moment it occurs is at the 3 minute mark and follows through until the end:

Film Review 1 - The Place Beyond The Pines

Recently I was looking through films and came across an article which listed the best films that were never nominated for an Oscar Award, based on the opinion of the article writer. One film that caught my eye was "The Place Beyond The Pines" as it was one of the most recent films on the list and I can remember watching the trailer (see above) previously and wanted to watch it but never got round to doing so. Therefore, I decided to watch it and thought I could write a review as part of my media course. The review is found below:

I found the film to be very entertaining and the entire storyline was so unique that I don't think I have ever seen a film like it before. The cast is very high quality talent and I liked the fact that Bradley Cooper does not get introduced right at the start, but plays a vital part in the storyline for the second half of the film. At the same time, both Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes both start off as key parts to the story but both have less of an influence after Bradley Cooper's Introduction. The camera work was very well produced in my opinion and I particularly liked the first scene where Ryan Gosling is walking through the fair ground (Right). The camera just follows him and the sounds of all the fairground rides and people around don't draw your attention away from him. It also gives a sense of mystery to where he is going.

As I stated before, the camera work is very good and the scenery also compliments this with how well it compliments the mood. There are a couple of shots both still and video that are very simple to do but have a great effect on how the mood of the film is reflected. I have placed two of these shots in the space below:

Youth Culture Essay - TV

A2 Media – Youth Culture Television Series Essay

Since the introduction of youth culture television series, it has become increasingly popular and there has been an increase in the quantity and variety of programmes available for consumers to watch. In class, we have looked briefly at the history of youth culture television programmes and we have watched some episodes of the programmes Byker Grove and Grange Hill as these were the first real series to tackle more serious issues that had been associated with youth culture such as teen pregnancy, drugs and alcohol. Grange Hill first aired in 1978 and the final episode ended in 2008 whereas Byker grove was first shown in 1989 and ran through until 2006.

Byker Grove was all about a youth centre up in Newcastle and it followed the stories of the teenagers that attended it. Although it was centred on the teenagers and their issues, it still had the presence of adults in the form of the supervisors which made it more suitable for a younger audience as it ensured that the teenagers were not subjected to complete freedom and some boundaries were put in place. This meant that is was more tolerable than the likes of Grange Hill and therefore did not go into great detail with some of the issues but did illustrate how it affected the youth and why young people incurred these issues. In terms of Grange Hill, it was similar in the fact it illustrated issues involving young people but it illustrated them in a more graphic and detailed manor which made it seem as though it was more accurate than Byker Grove. Grange Hill was set in a school in London and because of this, there were teachers which meant that like Byker Grove, boundaries were put in place. Both of the series were set in places that were inhabited by people with little money so the adults in each series acted more as parents to the younger characters as they were seen as more trustworthy and this therefore meant they were the ones that were needed by the teenagers to fix the issues that had been incurred. These series were both seen as highly accurate compared to any other similar programmes before it or aired at the same time. Grange Hill gives the illustration of social order being present which complies with the theory constructed by Acland of how youths should obey the social order but tend to break away from this. It also complies with Giroux’s theory of how the issues are constructed by adults as they all seem to have very severe consequences to them. The same goes for Byker Grove but it is less severe making it relate less to Giroux. They both have an element of Gramsci’s theory to them as they are both mixing the classes together but the upper class seem to have more authority over them as all the adults are higher class (especially Grange Hill) and the children of higher class in the classroom tend to be more powerful.

Coming back into the present day, we have the criteria of looking at shows that have been screened on television within the last five years. The first series we looked at was Misfits and more specifically seasons 3-5. The series is about a group of young people who are all attending community service after breaking the law and being given an ASBO. They also get given superpowers after supernatural thunderstorm that reflects their personalities. They use these powers to benefit themselves and to try and bring order to any situations they find themselves in. The main issue that is tackled in this series is the crime committed by the youth culture and the amount that occurs. This is supported through the fact they are attending community service and have been labelled with an ASBO which was put in place by the prime minister at the time. The series illustrates the youths as troublesome and makes them seem deviant to society but as the series grows greater, you see that some characters have just been caught doing something wrong once and being punished severely for it. An example of this would be Curtis as he was caught holding drugs and his athletic career is over. This complies with the theory of Gerbner as it suggests that people who watch the TV series that involve crime see crime as always being caused at a high expense when really this isn’t the case. This then ties in with Giroux’s theory as the youths are labelled in such a way because of the way they are viewed by adults, thus meaning they are being illustrated through the eyes of adults. As well as this, the characters all fit into different subcultures despite all being in the same community service team. This therefore means that Hebdige’s theory is also present in Misfits and Acland’s theory also ties in with that of Giroux’s because adults are expecting the teenagers to behave like they do but do tend to be deviant and troublesome on occasion.

The other television series that we have looked at is The Inbetweeners. This follows the story of a boy called Will who moves from a private school to a public school and makes friends with Simon, Neil and Jay. These 4 are considered unpopular by society but they are believed to be more popular that people at the bottom of the social order. Also, they see women as sexual objects and tools when in fact they are unable to even hold down a relationship with one of them. This series is very likely the most realistic youth culture series around as it follows the lives of a group of teenagers that are more common in society rather than rebellious youths. It appears as though it has been presented through the eyes of teenagers rather than the eyes of adults even though the producers are both fully grown men. This is because the series is based on a recount of the producers’ lives and this makes it seem more accurate in terms of how teens are represented. It does address some issues of youth culture but they are more commonly incurred issues such as gaining independence, losing their virginity, experimenting with drugs and alcohol etc. As for theorists, I feel that The Inbetweeners complies with the theory put in place by Hebdige as they all fall under a sub culture of not being popular but not being terribly unpopular. Throughout the series, you always see the main characters trying to break away from their parents and even from one another at some points but they always seem to struggle without them which indicates that Acland’s Theory applies as the need a source of protection as without one another they would not really be anything.

Scene 1 Shot Ideas

In class I have been looking back over my scene ideas and listing the ways I want the shots to go in each scene. This is just a plan and it is my ideal situation which may not happen because of difficulties when filming or some other problem. the ways in which i will be presenting my first scene shots are described below:

1.       Establishing shot of the house with a slow pan from left to right.

2.       Pan from top right to bottom left of the room the girl is in. The girl will be lying on the bed at the left of the screen and the pan stops when the bed is fully visible and the sun is shining through the window to give a slight bur affect.

3.       Slow pan upwards to give closer look at girl as she is playing on her phone.

4.       Shot behind her looking at what she is doing on her phone.

5.       Shot of her (quite close up) as she puts her phone on her table. Hand goes out of shot and you hear a thud on the floor.

6.       Looking at her from under the bed as she searches for her phone.

7.       Gets closer to her as she finds the phone but takes a second look because she sees something.

8.       Shot reverse shot of her and the box before she grabs it.

9.       Not sure whether to show her grabbing it then coming out from the bed or having the camera where the box is and watching her move from that perspective.

10.   Slight above shot of her dusting off the box.

11.   Shot of title of the box.

12.   Level shot of her standing up and as she walks off the camera stays still – cutting off her top half.

13.   Next shot is her sitting down at her desk from the side view.

14.   Close up as she opens the box, slight pause before she puts her hand(s) inside. (music starts playing potential 1)

15.   Quick shot of the emotion on her face.

16.   She pulls out a bunch of photos and starts looking through them.

17.   Aerial shot with slow pan as she flicks through them. (music starts playing potential 2)

18.   Different angles of her flicking through the photos until the lyrics come in – side view, view of just her ands flicking through, other sentimental objects around the room etc.

19.   She stops on a specific photo that we are unable to see, we only see her stop and the reaction on her face.

20.   As the lyrics “I will laugh with you” come in, it cuts to the first flashback scene.

Production Example 2

Recently I watched a music video which I was impressed by the lighting and general effects of and as it the music video takes place mostly in a car, I thought it would be a very good example of how I should edit the car scene that I want to use in my production. The only downside is that the music video is kind of a happy video and therefore wouldn't reflect the mood of my music video so I needed to find a music video which showed a similar background (car, couple, woman getting out of the car etc.) but with a more upsetting or argumentative feel towards it.

At this point I remembered in the "Rihanna - We found love" video, there was a scene where the couple had an argument and the woman stormed out of the car. I could not find a clip to show of just her storming out of the car so I found the timings of that section from the entire music video and will post the video below. This is a good scene as its the only car and the argument shows how both sides are upset and angry which makes it similar to what I want from my production. The only downside is that it isn't raining but if you try to imagine it with the effects from the other video then it will be ideal for my music video. The video clips can be seen below:

Ideal Effects: Keith Urban - Somewhere in my car

Ideal Scene: Rihanna - We found love ( 2:51-3:03)

Media Production Location Ideas

For my production idea, I will need at least 4 different locations. As well as this I will also need a brief shot of a singular house with appealing aesthetic features on the outside at the start of the video but this house does not have to be the same one as I will use in another scene. The locations that I feel I will need will be listed and explained below:

Scene 1 - Girl's Bedroom:
The start of the music video takes place with the main character in her room where she finds the photos under her bed. Ideally I would like the room to be as tidy as possible and it to be very basically coloured i.e. white and light colours to match it. This is so that nothing draws attention away from the main character. The box she finds should be dark colours (black or a dark navy blue) with a white label so that it seems like the box contrasts to the room and it gives a sense that even though the memories are happy ones, the whole flashback aspect of it is a negative one. This scene will be mainly at the start of the video and will feature briefly between each flashback and it acts as a kind of safe scene compared to the sadness and bad memories of the darker scenes.

Scene 2 - Park:
This scene is meant to be the placing of the first meeting between the two characters. Ideally I would like the scene to be filmed in a park with a few trees around and on a bright sunny day but in the time frame I have and the current season, this will be difficult. I may try to do something with the fact it is autumn and all the trees have had their leaves fallen to the base of them. The two characters happen to meet by chance and quickly begin to start talking and walking together (maybe holding hands) and end up sat together on a park bench. The scene stays the same but now only the female character is present and the lighting turns darker to give the feeling she is now alone.It would start with her near the bench and walking around looking at all the places they had been but now it is empty and dark. It would then turn back to the bedroom scene until the next flashback.

Scene 3 - Oxford Covered Market:
I want this scene to be filmed around Christmas time as the Covered Market begins to have decorations all over it. This will ensure a cute theme is present and the brighter Christmas colours suggest a happiness between the pair. I would like the girl ideally to be dressed in either a white or red coat to make her stand out with the man wearing more of a navy coat as this will make him seem more like he just wants to blend in to the background. The pair would be happy and seem as though they are in love and I would like to end the scene with a shot of them from high up so I can also get a close up of a clock. When it turns to the darker aspect of the scene, I would start it from the same position I left it but this time no one is in the background and the time is still the same as before. Then the girl appears from the side and it then cuts to a close up of her with a slight rotation in an arc shape looking up at her. After this it is her going to all the places they went before and ends with her leaving the market alone.

Scene 4 - Car Park/Car:
The final scene should be filmed in a car park which is preferably empty or with very little cars around. It will be filmed in the dark and will also be filmed whilst it is raining. I will also want part of the scene to be filmed with both characters in the car along with some shots of the girl outside the car and the male character still inside the car. This will give the idea of an argument occurring between the couple and the rain will signify that the man is inside the car and will be safe and secure with the break up but the woman has been left out in the cold and all her feelings have been destroyed.

The music video will cut back to the other scenes for like a final flashback and will end with the girl running down the stairs of her house and bursting out of the door to see the boy stood there. They hug and the screen fades away.