'AMERICAN BEAUTY' SCENE 1 AND 2 ANALYSIS

In this task we were asked to watch scene one and two from the film 'American Beauty' and the write about it. The main character in the film who we study is Lester Burnham a father and husband. The film was directed by Sam Mendes starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Chris Copper. 

Scene 1 - At the start of this scene it shows us a bird’s eye view of Lester lying face down in bed, the above shot makes him look small and unimportant. His wife is out of bed and the whole room is white and beige which are colours that are classed as dull and boring, this gives us the impression that his personality and life is dull and boring just like the colours of his bedroom. Then we are showed a shot of Lester getting out of his bed and his slippers are already in the perfect position to slide straight onto his feet, this shows us that Lester is a man of routine. After this we are shown a shot of Lester masturbating in the shower and his voiceover says 'this will be the highpoint of me day'. This can shows us that his sex life with his wife isn’t very good and it makes us think that he is a lonely person. The shoot is filmed so that the glass of the shower makes Lester look trapped, we get this a lot in this film. The next shoot we have Lester’s wife outside gardening and talking happily with the next door neighbour and there is Lester hiding behind the window watching his wife and neighbours, this makes us think that he is an unsociable, lonely character. This shoot is also filmed so that it looks like Lester is trapped behind the window. There seems to be no emotions on Lester’s face and it seems like he is very distant from his family. Throughout the hole film the colour scheme is either white and beige (dull and boring) or red, white and blue which represents the American flag. Towards the end of scene 1 we see that Lester’s wife gives him very little respect neither does his teenage daughter. Lester sits in the back of the car asleep and his wife driving with his daughter in the passenger seat. This makes us compare him to a child about how he behaves and how he is treated. Throughout the whole scene we have a negative voiceover from Lester but right at the end he says ‘it’s never too late’. This shows that there is some positivity in Lester’s life.

Scene 2 – At the start of scene 2 its shows Lester sitting at his desk at work on the phone. His general mood seems quite happy or maybe sarcastic when he is on the phone to a customer. Also it shows Lester’s computer screen and his reflection on the screen which is another point of where it shows that he is trapped. Then Lester’s boss calls him to his office and talks to him. How Lester is position makes him look small and powerless and how the boss is position makes him look big and has all the power. The whole conversation seems to be tense and we start to see Lester’s anger come out of him when the boss is talking about firing people. Then it shows Lester being drove home from work by his wife and they are talking about what Lester’s boss said to him, Lester seems very angry and frustrated about this. The two of them walk inside and then we are showed Lester, his wife and daughter all eating round the dinner table. His daughter describes the music played as ‘elevator music’. This type of music matches the mood between Lester and his daughter (Jayne) as they haven’t been speaking. The whole misc en scene shows the colour scheme red, white and blue and it shows candles light on the table like it’s a special occasion. The family are so far spread apart which shows us that this is what they are like in really life, distant. Lester is sat all slouched like a child and his wife has correct posture like someone of her age would have. Jayne ends up stomping out of the room into the kitchen as she has an argument with Lester. Lester follows her into the kitchen and they talk, he apologises for not being there for her and being a good father figure. This shows us that he is a genuine warm hearted man but he isn’t acting like it. Right at the end of the scene we are showed a man filming Jayne and Lester from outside the window. This man doesn’t look trustworthy and it just adds to our thoughts of what is going to happen next.

SHOTS AND ANGLES

AMERICAN BEAUTY

'RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' CASE STUDY

In this task we were asked to pick a film and research about it. The film I have picked is ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ because I have never seen it but heard that it is a very good film. ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco, Freida Pinto and Andy Serkis. Written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It was released on August 5, 2011. It has a running time of 105 minutes and is rated 12A. The film was nominated for an Academy award for best visual effects. It was also nominated for five Satum awards including Best Director for Wyatt and Best Writing for Jaffa and Silver. It is estimated that the film had a budget of $93,000,000. This film was a co-production between 20th Century Fox, Cherninentertainment and Dur entertainment. It was only produced in the English language but also has sign languages and sub-titles. The main location for filming was in Louisiana, USA.

Here is a brief summary of the storyline in 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'. 

The main chimpanzee at the story's heart is Caesar (Actor Andy Serkis), Caesar gains human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug. Raised like a child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco) and a primatologist Caroline Aranha (Frieda Pinto), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno. Seeking justice for his fellow inmates, Caesar gives the fellow apes the same drug that he inherited. He then assemble a simian army and escapes the sanctuary. Putting man and ape on a collision course that could change the planet forever. Here is the trailer released for this film.

THE FILM INDUSTRY

In the American film industry there are six main film studios, these are: Warner Brothers (owned by Time Warner), Paramount (owned by Viacom), 20th Century Fox (owned by News Corp), Walt Disney Pictures (owned by The Walt Disney Company), Columbia Pictures (owned by Song Corporation) and Universal Pictures (owned by GE). These six studios dominate the film industry and it is hard for less recognised film studios to produce successful films. These big 6 studios produce better films than other film companies as they have more money and are more recognised so they can take more risks. Each off these studios are owned by a conglomerate which is a huge media company that owns lots of other smaller companies known as subsidiaries (smaller arms connected to the conglomerate). When the market is dominated by just a few companies this is known as Oligopoly. The film industry in UK is totally different to America. There are very few big studios which means they cant take as many risks as American film studios do, due to budgets etc. Most of the time UK film studios can't afford to make the film a success so they tend to join with one of the big 6 studios to get there film to be successful. America own 75% of the UK box office. Here are the main British film studios: Big Talk Pictures (produced Paul, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Working Title Films (produced Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Boat that Rocked, About a Boy), Film4 (owned by television company Channel 4 produced This is England, Fever Pitch), BBC films (owned by the BBC produced The boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Miss Potter), Ecosse Films (produced Mrs Brown, Charlotte grey, Nowhere Boy) and UK Film Council (owned by the Government funded by the lottery and government produced The Women in Black, Kidulthood, Adulthood, We need to talk to Kevin).

Key Words:

• Convergence - Two or more types of media coming together.
• Synergy - Different elements of a company working together to promote related products.
• Concentration of media ownership - The process by which an increasingly smaller number of companies own the majority of media outlets.
• Conglomerate - The company that owns a range of smaller companies.
• Subsidiary - Smaller arms that come from a bigger company.
• Oligopoly - When the market is dominated by a small number of companies.
• Cross media ownership - When a company owns lots off different types of media.

THE GAZE

In this image we get Freddie Ljungberg modelling a pair of black Calvin Klein boxer shorts. The reason why Calvin Klein have picked Freddie to model there underwear is because he comes across as being a very musclely good looking man. Younger males will see this image and want to buy these boxers to make themselfs look like Freddie Ljungberg. This image will appeal to young men, gay men and also women will want there partners/boyfriends to were Calvin Klein underwear to look like Freddie but actually this is just a fantasy. Freddie is holding onto a bar above his head which is making himself flex up his bicep muscle. His hand is going down his boxer shorts and his hand is in a tensed fist position which is showing his arm muscles, he is also sweaty which may show that he has just had sex.

In this image we have Eva Mendes modelling for Calvin Klein women’s wear. Calvin Klein has obviously picked Eva to advertise this brand because she has a cracking figure and a nature photo genic talent. In this Image Eva is looking all hot and sweaty which could indict that she has just had sex which for some people which seem that her outfit is very sexy, this will persuaded them to buy Calvin Klein products. Men will want their partners/girlfriends to wear these products and also women will buy this product to look like Eva Mendes but actually this is another fantasy. Also Eva Mendes is a famous American actress which people will idol to be and dress like her.

REPRESENTATION OF THREE IMAGES

In our media class today Mrs Ford set us a task to represent and give our thoughts and opinons of these three pictures.

The First photo we were showed today is this one of a man standing in a busy street smoking. My first impression of this man is that he is a tramp and most likly homeless. The reason why i think this is because of his patched trousers, wolly beanie and to small cardigan. My all round opinion of this man is that he is a scuffy, homeless old man who maybe once was employed then lost his life.

After the task set Mr Ford revealed that infact this man is Doug Bihlmaier who is the head designer at the huge clothing company Ralph Lauren. Mr Ford pointed out to us that infact his trousers were perfectly sitched and not dirty atall, his cardigan and hat didnt appaer to have any holes in and his shoes were designer and worth over £200. So this just shows us that how he has decided to dress is very stylish and unique but comes across as trampish and scuffy.

The second picture that we were shown is a young looking business man. He seems to look very smart and clean. Having no facial hair makes him look presentable and looks like he looks after himself. Also this man looks like his is some kind of important business and he looks very genuine and a trustworthy man.

However when we studied this man in more detail and Mr Ford told us a bit more about him i was totally shocked. This man is infact a mass serial killer named Ted Bundy. He has actually killed over 100 innocent people and he has now been executed for his horrible crimes. Ted used his innocent, trustworthy appearence to fool people to come with him before he killed them.

Finally our class was shown this photo off this women. Instantly i noticed how weirdly and bright this women is dressed. She had alot of different coloured clothes on which most people wounldnt wear ever. Also the enviroment were she was looks very desserted and empty which makes here look even more out off place and odd.

After we studied this women and was told that in actually fact her name was Anna Piaggi and she was an itailian fashion designer for vogue. Unfortunetly she recently died of old age but this women was very good friends with the most famous fashion designers e.g vivvian westwood.

This task has shown me that when people judge people on what they look like and what they dress like tyhey could be completly wrong. It shows that people sterotype what people look like instanly when they see them when they can be totally wrong. I was very shocked about all these people and who they actually are and i have found this task very interesting.