A Deep Dive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYRtAhDna7g      In 2020, I watched a movie that changed my perspective on film. I no longer saw it as just a source of entertainment, but an art form. The movie was Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman (2019). This is a biopic about Elton John's life but takes a creative direction by conveying scenes from Elton's life through his music and emotions. I remember watching this movie over the summer after we got put on lockdown and being wholly entranced. The scene I attached above is the scene that I felt a feeling I can't even describe. This was the moment when Elton realized he wanted to get better, so you see him leaving his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden to enter rehab. This comes as a full circle moment since the beginning of the movie starts with Elton entering the doors of rehab but it looks like a concert. Elton leaving a sold-out show to enter rehab is not how it went in real life, but Fletcher conveyed it this way to symbolize the ...

    This was my second time seeing this film, once in theaters and the other in class. The first time I saw it, I thought it was good but I had a lot of confusion. I kept getting hung up on the really strange aspects and not fully absorbing the message. The hotdog fingers, ketchup and mustard coming out of mouths, those men getting the award stuck in their assholes, etc. I just thought it was such a weird choice and I couldn't take the serious moments seriously. The second time I watched it, in class, I felt I truly understood why it won best picture at the Oscars. This might have been because I already knew of the weird aspects and could really give my attention to the sentimental scenes. I had heard of a lot of people getting emotional watching the film and when I first watched it, I couldn't understand why everyone was crying. I found myself in class tearing up and that's when I realized I understood. There are so many lessons pact in this story and all of them just leav...

              What a weird, wonderful film. I highly enjoyed the absurdity and far-fetched story and how impactful it turned out to be. The story is essentially about a man who has been stranded on an island and is about to hang himself after he loses all hope of being rescued. He then sees a man who washed up the shore, who ends up being a magnificent being who's able to do inhuman things that could potentially save his life. They end up becoming good friends and obtaining great hope to return to the life they left behind, even though the inhuman man doesn't remember his old life. The main character, Hank, tricks the inhuman man, Manny, into believing his life was extraordinary and helps him to "remember" it. What Manny doesn't know is the people and events Hank is describing to Manny actually happened in Hank's life. He does this because he thinks hearing about that life will spark real memories for Manny of his own. The movie ends with Hank and Mann...

  https://youtu.be/JIC-eONzS7Y       After finishing our short film, I definitely was able to identify what changes I would make. Having made this film with no professional equipment or actors, we really had to work with what we had. Also having made this film with a group of students prompted differences in schedules and having to shoot scenes on their own time. This made some of the ideas I had for scenes just not work out because I couldn't be there to implement my own creative ideas. I'm very proud of what we came up with and how we used our brains to work together but if I had more time and more professional resources, I feel we could have made it even better. Some categories that stuck out to me range from camera angles, lighting changes, more of a "climax" in the story, and implementing some dialogue that is significant to the story but not the main focus. I think the idea was strong but in a more professional sense, I would have gone in some different di...

                        After watching "Get Out" for class, I made an easy comparison with the protagonist of the movie trying to escape the crazy family's house. This aspect of the movie reminded me of other movies I have watched with similar themes. My favorite genre of film is "thriller" so I often see the use of suspense with the audience questioning "will they escape?" I mentioned in my Get Out blog post that I was a little disappointed with how quick the protagonist seemed to escape compared to other escape movies I have seen. I also go on to describe how that could have been a creative choice, which I can also admire. I wanted to create an additional blog post where I talk about 2 separate movies I have seen with cinematically successful thrilling escape scenes, in my opinion ;)     First up is the movie pictured above titled Ready or Not, directed by Matt Bettinelli and Tyler Gillett. The whole premise of the ...

    So as we were assigned in class, me and my group have been working on making our short film! The concept is showing the true life of a college student. This includes how draining it can be to work as hard as we do everyday. It really explores the idea of getting into a routine in your day to day life that can become repetitive. It becomes very difficult to make your days different than the others because of how time consuming schoolwork is.     The film opens with a walk through of a students average school day and how they are energized for the start of the week. As the film goes on, you can gradually see the student become more drained and depressed. It becomes harder to get out of bed, harder to listen in class, etc. I presented this idea to my group and they all liked it! We branched out from this general idea with "nitty-gritty" details that we felt it was important to include.     This project was a fun way to let ou...

    This was such a good movie! I have seen so many movies with similar themes such as Fresh (2022) and Ready or Not (2019). I was fascinated by how well the actors portrayed this story, specifically in the scene where Rose is speaking on the phone with Rod. She keeps empty facial expressions, as if she is in that hypnotized trance, while adding emotion to her voice to seem as if she cared. I wasn't suspicious of Rose though until she couldn't find her keys and then I knew. I loved how the opening scene ties into the story as well. I went back to rewatch the opening scene after Chris took the car and saw the mask from the beginning. I was rooting for all of those captured people to find their way out and I was so sad they all ended up dying (except Chris of course, who survived).      The music really added to the story as well. I love when thriller/horror movies use music as important elements because it makes the story e...

    After learning about Mise en Scene in class, I was hyper-aware of every detail the director made while watching this movie. The color schemes, music choices, and cinematography gave the movie such a mix of a regal yet modern feel. Sofia Cappola is known to give her characters such a lonely feel to them, using features like having a wide camera shot for just the protagonist or having the protagonist look longingly out the window. There were many times when Marie would be away and having fun but then the contrast of having a distant wide shot of her standing alone and looking melancholy would give that classic Cappola feel.      I found myself feeling very fond of her character and how difficult it must have been to be a young girl in that position of power. You can see all the energetic and youthful energy she has but she is in a position where she is to remain poised and do as she's told. She goes though a sense of rebellion, as you can see when she cheats o...

     After watching Rear Window, I was reflecting by thinking about the cinematic choices and what I learned after reading chapter 2. A scene that gave the illusion it was shot in one shot was the opening scene of Rear Window. The opening scene pans to each window in the city and hints at what the main character is going to be looking at through the window. It was such a strong choice to have this be the opening scene because it shows a little of what is going on in each window before getting into more detail throughout the movie.       The director used differences in perspective to show the people outside his window. The camera often played as if it was coming from the perspective of the main character and was focusing on what he was looking at. This led to the audience questioning what was occurring in the other homes when he wasn't looking. Having the story taken in this direction keeps the audience on their toes about what is going to happen next ...

     After watching Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920), I can say I do not like older films because of how unsettled I was. The spooky music, unique makeup, unrealistic sets, and lack of dialogue made me uncomfortable. I had difficulty following along with the plot because I had to stop and read after every dialogue point. The actors made me uncomfortable as well and I think it is because of all I know about actors' lives back then, Judy Garland for example. Life was very different in the 20s and I don't like traveling there through film.       The cinematography and scenery were obviously unrealistic and tacky, so I felt like I was watching something the whole time instead of being sucked into the movie and forgetting it was fictional like normal. The plot was very unique, I have to say. I found myself genuinely interested in the plot and LOVED the plot twist. That truly made the story for me because it set me back and made me think. I have always st...

    In 1896, Alice Guy- Blaché wrote, directed, and edited her first film, The Cabbage Fairy. She even starred in the film as the fairy. In the movie, a fairy is in a field of cabbages and pulls babies out to set them on the ground where the camera can see them. Since this is one of the first films ever made, it is short, has no dialogue, and is shot from one camera angle. The cinematography is lacking because of how old it is, as there is no change in scenery. In current years, most people find this film weird and confusing but in a way, that can be said about modern films made today as well. You could probably rack your brain for a deeper meaning like audiences do nowadays with "strange" films.     An example of a modern film that can be seen similarly is The Menu (2022). This film is about a strange, prestigious restaurant with a head chef who takes his craft a little too seriously. Weird things happen throughout the whole movie that audiences ...

     In class, we watched the short film Snowy. This was about a pet turtle and his pursuit of happiness. We were introduced to the family that owns this 24-year-old turtle and got to know who the owners are. In this, we learned that the turtle was adopted by one of the sons in the family, but through the years, became very important to the father in the family, Larry. The short film walks us through Larry's work to keep Snowy alive and provides Snowy with the attention no one else in the family seems to give him. You come to the conclusion that Larry cares a great deal about Snowy, but may be going about it in the wrong way.       Snowy is shown as very closed off and in his shell the majority of the time. He tries to eat a worm, which is mentioned that he loves, but throws it up because he can't eat it. Larry goes on a journey to take better care of Snowy and pursues other avenues to help Snowy. Through reaching out to a professional with turtles in ...

          Hi! My name is Emma Akers and I am an Interactive Media Studies major with a minor in Film and Screen Studies! I love reading, music, and obviously film. This is my first year at North Central College and I am so glad this was the school I chose. I have a passion for cinematography and film so I decided to study it! I am from Indiana and learned about North Central from my sister who is a senior here. I have 2 dogs named Oliver and Teddy who are by far the best little dogs ever. I listen to all types of music and genres and don't really have a favorite. This goes for movies as well, it's hard to choose a favorite when there are so many.           A movie that got me into film was Rocketman (2019). The cinematography particularly and the decisions the director made were so fascinating to me that I wanted to pursue a career in working on projects like that. I will gladly have a conversation about the specifics of my opi...