Special Effect

For the special effects portion of this blog, I selected to focus on the movie The Titanic. This movie won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1997. There were several times in the movie where special effects were used. Computers were used to create:

• the digital passengers seen on the ship's deck
• the ship's launch
• the engine room
• the camera fly-bys of the ship
• the transition shot of Jack and Kate at the front of the ship when Kate was learning "how to fly"
• Kate Winslet's iris that was digitally inserted and morphed into Gloria Stuart's eye (when she was the old lady retelling the story) 

Special effects make the impossible possible for films and I find them very interesting, especially in a movie where it is meant to reenact an actual event in history like the sinking of the Titanic. 

Tsotsi: Sound & Music

In the South African culture, depicted throughout the film Tsotsi, music is of great importance. Music is a main focus of this film and is incorporated throughout it. In the beginning, the music sets the tone of the film and the importance of the music is depicted in the actions of the men, women, and children. There is also an interesting concept to the music in the film that speaks to the divide of the country. The initial music used had fast beats and proved that there was a divide between the impoverished areas of South Africa next to the areas that were of more wealth. During emotionally intense times of the film, there was music being played that was soft and easier to listen too. The music was very pleasing to me while I was watching the film.

Transition

This is an example of a Wipe Transition. The movie Star Wars is very known for this type of transition. Wipes are dynamic and are used to push one frame off of the screen with another frame.

The Whale Rider: Historical Framework

To focus on New Zealand, we watched a film called The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimarea. This was a very interesting movie that showed a lot of historical and cultural aspects. The main character, Pai, was a little girl who lost her twin brother at birth. It was always the dream of her grandfather to have a grandson that would take over their tribe. When he did not get his grandson he was horribly disappointed and his feelings showed through on his interactions with Pai. The culture of the tribe was something that was so important to the grandfather in order to keep the history alive in their culture. Pai went against the norms and acted more masculine than most other girls her age. She did all of these things in order to gain respect from her grandfather and not let her tribe down. This movie did a great job of showing the tight bond of the tribe that the characters were a part of as well as all of the traditions and customs that were present that were passed down from generation to generation.

Camera Movement

This is an Aerial shot. This is an interesting shot because it is taken from above to show the location that the movie is taking place in. It shows a lot of detail of the scenery and location of the movie. This is a particular example that I like from the beginning of "The Sound of Music" to show where the entire movie will take place.

A Question Regarding The Road Home...

What was the purpose/symbolism of the director going against the norm and putting the flashbacks in color and the present moment in black and white?

The Road Home: Symbolism

My favorite symbol that was used throughout the film was the red scarf as well as the color red in general. Di wore the red scarf during the movie starting with the first time she saw the teacher. To me, the red scarf did not only symbolize "love" and "warmth" and "comfort" associated with the color red and the object being a scarf but it also symbolized the connection between Di and the teacher. I feel like the scarf acted as a way for the teacher to pick out Di from the crowd. The color in general was depicted throughout the movie whenever their was a feeling of love in the film.