The Use of Pertinent Film Techniques in Falling Down
Falling Down was released in 1992 and directed by Joel Schumacher,
other films of his including The Client(1994)and also 8mm(1998). The
opening sequence of Falling Downuses many techniques to portray the
emotional and psychological effects of the events taking place around
Michael Douglas' character.
The first technique that is apparent to me is from the very beginning
of the film. The openings to many films are action packed sequences
with a whole lot of sound effects and music to accompany them but
Falling Downuses none of these, just a silent, black screen over which
the credits roll. This effect leaves the audience in suspense of what
is going to happen straight away in the film. There is a sense of
unawareness almost immediately. It is almost like a last resort before
the pandemonium that is about to ensue hits you.
When the action begins it is of a full close up of a man's sweaty
forehead. The camera pulls away to reveal the whole face of the man
and he is completely soaked in beads of sweat. His hair looks as
though he's been in an electric shock and he's wearing thickly rimmed
dark glasses. The glasses serve to make his eyes look heavy and
wearisome. He wears a smart shirt and trousers with a black and white
tie leading to the conclusion he is some sort of businessmen. He also
carries a briefcase that becomes apparent later in the sequence. This
is also where the first use of sound comes into the film. As soon as
his soaked head is on the screen he's making heavy breathing sounds as
if trying to calm down. The camera angle then slowly pulls away to the
side of the ca...
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...e traffic works.
Throughout the whole film I think it is evident that the narrative is
pulling us towards the conclusion that, through Michael Douglas'
characters actions and within the mise-en-scene, he is indeed having
some sort of mid life crisis and that this is the day which sends him
over the edge. The noises, actions and people around him are just the
everyday sorts of hustle and bustle and compiled with the heat of the
day, it all takes its toll.
So in conclusion, through the actions of the character, the diegetic
sounds constantly being present and the sights of shouting, arguing
angry people, I think that it is safe to say that the narrator wants
us to think that he is on the verge of some sort of mid life crisis
and has finally reached breaking point, leaving us to wonder what he
is going to do next.
to be patient with his infamous plan. “The date will be Thursday, April 13” (109).
scenes from the film; this is due to a number of reasons. The main one
As the opening credits scroll on the screen, the violins in the orchestra play an anticipatory mood. Almost like a chase is occurring. This music sets the scene for the rest of the movie and the horror that will ensue. The same melody is continued into the first scene just at a slower speed. When Marion Crane and Sam Loomis are in the hotel room
followed by close. The film is mostly shot with a closed frame, but there ar...
At the start of the clips there are the credits for the two films. In
After The Warner Brothers put a patent on the vitaphone eventually “Don Juan”, premiered in 1926, this was not the first talking film but the film had a musical soundtrack which was a big advance in technology getting other companies thinking about producing films
Film was not always as it is today due to the digital sounds and graphic picture enhancements of George Lucas's THX digital sound in the late 1970s to enhance the audience's perceptions. Sound was first discovered in 1928 and the first films before that were silent. There is a social need to heighten an audience's film going experience and it allows each person to color their own views of what they see and presents either directly or indirectly society's moral values.
With the discovery of techniques such as continuous editing, multiple camera angles, montage editing, and more, silent filmmaking developed from simple minute-long films to some of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring films that have ever been created—in only a few decades. In Visions of Light, someone alluded that if the invention of sound had come along a mere ten years later, visual storytelling would be years ahead of what it is today. This statement rings true. When looking at the immense amount of progress that was made during the silent era of films, one must consider where the art of film has been, where it is, and where it is
Interestingly enough, one can actually change their "terminal" velocity. For instance, if Joe were to jump out of the plane and position in the prone, spread eagle position, his surface area would be at his maximum. Thus the terminal velocity he would reach would be lower than the terminal velocity he would reach if he dove from the plane head first. When Joe transitions from spread eagle to the head first position, his surface area decreases, thus allowing for an increase in speed.
The mise-en-scene that is first seen in the sequence is Welles 's use of lighting. Throughout the film
Thinking Sound. (2011). Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola Talks about the Evolution of Movie Sound. [Online]. Available from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-fNpE9vQJw [Accessed 05 February 2012]
The character that will be focused on is Whip Whitaker in the movie Flight. Whip Whitaker is a male African-American, pilot that has no religious beliefs or spiritualism in the beginning of the film. Prior to his career with SouthJet Airlines, he was a pilot in the Navy. He is divorced with one son; in the beginning of the film he has a relationship with his co-worker, Katerina, and throughout the movie builds a new romantic relationship with Nicole. While he initially showed lack of faith throughout much of the movie, the change in Whip towards the end of the film demonstrates faith by facing the truth and allowing the higher power to be in control of the next events. Before admitting the truth in the hearing, he mutters “God help me” and proceeds to show integrity and courage despite knowing that the consequence for telling the truth will be jail time for him. He displays courage, valor, and expertise when he takes control of a crashing airplane and saves 96 out of 102 people on board the plane. When he finds out that Katerina as well as 5 other people have been killed, he shows toughness and resilience and is able to overcome the loss he experiences and the guilt he is ridden with. He is an experienced airplane pilot that is courageous, persistent, resilient, and at times, brutally honest. Whip’s coping mechanisms are denial, dissociation, acting out, displacement, and undoing. While he is going through an immensely tumultuous time, he displays resiliency and perseverance to overcome the legal ramifications of the airplane crash that he was piloting. Whip also displays kindness and courage when he rescues Nicole from her landlord that is attempting to beat her, without hesitation. He has diff...
The addition of any type of sound to movies was handled mainly by the use of musical instruments, such as the organ or piano, and it wasn’t until the year 1923 that movies actually contained music or voices. After decades of looking into synchronizing sound with movies, a successful way of doing so was founded by Lee De Forest. Contrary to his belief however, the film industry had little interest in his innovation. It was not until “Warner Brothers, a struggling industry newcomer, turned to sound as a way to compete with its larger rivals” (Mintz). A prerecorded musical sound track eliminated the expense of live entertainment. In 1926, Warner Brothers released the film Don Juan and made history. Being the first film with a synchronized...
The use of sound has been greatly developed and is now considered as "one of the richest sources of meaning in film art." (Giannetti, 2002). When sound in film is being examined, two positions must be assumed; digetic sound and non-digetic sound. These positions relate to the basis of the sound in film and television. For example, digetic sound refers to the sound that materialises inside the creation of the film (if a character h...
about his life being a failure. He is trying to understand life and his place