Lights! Camera! Action!

21/04/2020

LESSON 1- Narrative

Learning Objective: To explore the narrative structure of a film.

CASE STUDY- The Breakfast Club:

DIRECTOR- John Hughes

WRITER- John Hughes

PRODUCER- John Hughes and Ned Tanen

PRODUCTION COMPANY- A&M films and Channel Productions

DISTRIBUTION COMPANY- Universal Pictures

RELEASE DATE-15th February 1985

GENRE- Comedy/Drama

MAIN ACTORS-  Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.

Narrative:

On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five students at the fictional Shermer High School report at 7:00 a.m. for all-day detention. Each comes from a different clique: stuck-up Claire Standish, geek Brian Johnson, wrestler Andrew Clark, rebellious John Bender, and outcast Allison Reynolds. They gather in the school library, where Assistant Principal Richard Vernon instructs them not to talk, move from their seats, or sleep until they are released at 4:00 p.m. He assigns them a thousand-word essay, in which each must describe "who you think you are". He leaves, returning only occasionally to check on them.

John ignores the rules and riles up the other students, teasing and harassing Brian, Andrew, and Claire. Vernon gives John eight weekends' worth of additional detention and eventually locks him in a storage closet, but he escapes and returns to the library.

The students pass the hours by talking, arguing, and, at one point, smoking marijuana (except Allison who does not smoke with the others). Gradually, they open up and reveal their secrets: Claire has lots of experiences of peer pressure, John comes from an abusive household, Allison is a compulsive liar, Andrew can't think for himself, and Brian contemplated suicide over a bad grade. They discover they all have poor relationships with their parents: Claire's parents use her to get back at each other during arguments, John's parents physically and verbally abuse him, Allison's parents ignore her, Andrew's father pushes him to the limit, especially in wrestling, and Brian's parents pressure him to earn high grades. The students realize that, despite their differences, they face similar problems.

Claire gives Allison a makeover, which sparks romantic interest from Andrew. Claire decides to break her "pristine" innocent appearance by kissing John and giving him a hickey. Although they suspect their new relationships will end along with their detention, they believe their mutual experiences will change the way they look at their peers.

As the detention nears its end, the group requests that Brian complete the essay for everyone, and John returns to the storage closet to fool Vernon into thinking he never left. Brian leaves the essay in the library for Vernon to read after they leave. As the students part ways, Allison and Andrew kiss, as do Claire and John. Allison rips Andrew's state champion patch from his jacket to keep, and Claire gives John one of her diamond earrings, which he puts on. Vernon reads the essay, in which Brian states that Vernon has already judged who they are using stereotypes, and that they think that Vernon is crazy if he thinks that they are going to tell him who they are; so Brian correspondingly states in the letter that "each one of us is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?" He signs off the letter with "Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club."

How long does the story take in 'real' time?- 9 hours.

If the narrative in a film is in this order it has a linear narrative. If the order is not in this order it has a non-linear narrative. The Breakfast club has a linear narrative as the plot happend in Todrov's order.

Equilibrium: On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five students at the fictional Shermer High School report at 7:00 a.m. for all-day detention.
Disruption: Assistant Principal Richard Vernon instructs the group not to talk, move from their seats, or sleep until they are released at 4:00 p.m. He assigns them a thousand-word essay, in which each must describe "who you think you are". He leaves, returning only occasionally to check on them. John ignores the rules and riles up the other students, teasing and harassing Brian, Andrew, and Claire. Vernon gives John eight weekends' worth of additional detention and eventually locks him in a storage closet, but he escapes and returns to the library.

Recognition of disruption: The students pass the hours by talking, arguing, and, at one point, smoking marijuana (except Allison who does not smoke with the others). Gradually, they open up and reveal their secrets: Claire has lots of experiences of peer pressure, John comes from an abusive household, Allison is a compulsive liar, Andrew can't think for himself, and Brian contemplated suicide over a bad grade. They discover they all have poor relationships with their parents: Claire's parents use her to get back at each other during arguments, John's parents physically and verbally abuse him, Allison's parents ignore her, Andrew's father pushes him to the limit, especially in wrestling, and Brian's parents pressure him to earn high grades. The students realize that, despite their differences, they face similar problems.

Attempt to solve: As the detention nears its end, the group requests that Brian complete the essay for everyone, and John returns to the storage closet to fool Vernon into thinking he never left. Brian leaves the essay in the library for Vernon to read after they leave. Vernon reads the essay, in which Brian states that Vernon has already judged who they are using stereotypes, and that they think that Vernon is crazy if he thinks that they are going to tell him who they are; so Brian correspondingly states in the letter that "each one of us is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?" He signs off the letter with "Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club."
New equilibrium: As the students part ways, Allison and Andrew kiss, as do Claire and John. Allison rips Andrew's state champion patch from his jacket to keep, and Claire gives John one of her diamond earrings, which he puts on.

22/04/2020

Lesson 2- Characters

Learning Objective: To explore the use of characterisation in a film. 

Main Character actors:

• Judd Nelson as John Bender
• Molly Ringwald as Claire Standish
• Emilio Estevez as Andrew Clark
• Anthony Michael Hall as Brian Johnson
• Ally Sheedy as Allison Reynolds

Protagonist (hero) outline:

It could be argued that there is not a hero in this film, however, I think that there are two main heroes in the film.  John, as he is not afraid to stand up to Vernon and encourages the others to talk to each other during detention which encourages the others to see that despite being totally different characters, they all face similar problems. I also think that Brian is a hero as he writes the essay to Vernon telling him to stop seeing people as stereotypes, not who they actually are.

Antagonist (vilian) outline:

The vilain in The Breakfast Club is vice principle Vernon. Vernon is a middle-aged high school teacher who seemigly has nothing better to do with his saturdays than bully teenagers. He is antagonistic. 

1- Is there more than one main character?- In the breakfast club, there are five main characters: John, Claire, Brian, Allison and Andrew.

2- Is te story really about these characters of someone else?- The story is about these characters and the realisation that despite being completely differnt they all face similar problems.

3- Who is teling the story?- the narrative is told by all five characters at some point during the film as their lives and the reasons they are in detention is gradually revealed.

4- What do the main characters look like?- John is dressed as an untypical, messy yet kind of stylish teenage reble. Andrew is dressed as a completely typical american highschool jock. Claire is dressed as a typical high school 'prom queen'. brian is dressed in ordinary 1980s style clothes and Allison is dressed in dirty, torn clothes.

5- What might the way they look tell us about the character?- The way that they characters look is extremely stereotypical, however, their personalities are counter-sterotypical.

The Hero: John, despite being antagonistic twords the other students at the begining, as he makes the characters realise that despite bring different they all have similar problems and is the writers vehicle to convey this anti-stereotypical message to the audience.
The Villain: Vernan as he is antagonistic and bullying twords John, locking him in a store cupboard to stop him talking to the other students.
The Donor: Brian as he writes the essay for Vernan.
The Helper: ?
The Princess: Claire.
The Dispatcher: ?
The Princess' Father: Vernon as he is the authoritarian figure who puts the students in detention. // Andrew as he is protective over Claire at the beginning.
The False Hero: Andrew as Vernan has respect for him at the beginning.

29/04/2020

Lesson 3- Camerawork

Learning Objective: To explore the use of camerawork in films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCNTMMyiI40

1- Over shoulder shot, extreme long shot, mid shot.
2- Over shoulder shot is used during speech, the extreme long shot is used so the whole person can be seen as well as the resturant setting and the mid shot shows the person who is talking from the waist up.
3- A long shot is seen when introducing the character. There is a close up on the mic-recorder.
4- Baby's.
5- The point of view is through Baby's eyes.
6- There is a tracking shot on Deborah when she is walking pinto the restaurant and when she is walking away, the rest is still.
7- The first shots introduce the restaurant setting and Deborah as she walks in.
8- The scene is mostly over the shoulder shots as it is conversational.
9- The shots change quickly.

28/05/2020

Lesson 4- Mise-en-scene

Learning Objective: To explore the use of mise-en-scene in films.

Science Fiction film: Futuristic settings props and locations. Settings may be in space, on another planet or in the future. The props are usually futuristic or ahead of the time when the film is set.

Romantic Comedy Film: Location is usually in a well known urban area to help the audience relate with the characters. Settings may include parks and houses and props are regular objects close to everyday life.

A Horror Film: Location is usually in a near deserted, remote area and settings may include dark forests, graveyards and spooky houses. Props are usually everyday objects. 

Left: Film set in recent but not present times and centered around american wild west cowboy culture. Costume connotes that the character is an adventurer or a cowboy. The make up is minimal connoting that the character is rustic. You can not see his hair.

Center: Film is set in modern times and centered around american high school culture. The costume connotes that the character is a popular girly-girl and the make up and hair connotes that she cares a lot about her appearance and how she looks to others. It also connotes that she has a lot of free time.

Right: Film is set in past times, connoted by the costume that the character is wearing. The messy hair connotes that the character does not care so much about his appearance and is perhaps tired.

Left: The hunched over back and clenched fists of the man suggest that he is angry at the girl who is looking at him. The woman is looking at the other characters but perhaps passive to the argument or not wanting to get involved as suggested by her upright position.

Right: The open position of the man in the middle suggests that he is the leader of the group.The cigarette thet he is smoking suggests that he does not respect rules and is a troublemaker. The man to the right of him has his elbow out, egging him on suggesting that he is the main antagonist of the group.

 


The low key lighting, producing sharp contrasts, suggests that the scene is intense and mysterious. This is also conveyed by the dark colour choices which obscure certain objects adding to the main mood of the scene. 





Right: The man and the woman sitting on the sofa could not be any further away from each other, perhaps connoting that they do not like each other or have just had an argument.

Left:  The men are close together which connoted that they are friendly with each other. They both hold their guns close to themselves suggesting that they are used to using them. 

 The scene is set in a large hall. The hall is decorated with paintings, a large table with a feast, candles and a chair embroidered with gold, connoting that the person who owns the hall is wealthy. The man in the middle of the three is wearing a hat on his head which connotes that he is a pirate, this is also suggested by the long cloak which he is wearing. He holds his hands in front of the men at his side, suggesting that he is a fairly confident character. The men on either side are wearing a matching red and white uniform and look straight ahead, connoting that they are guards. The colour in the scene is full of contrasts. The setting is fairly bland compared to the red and white costumes of the guards and the cloak of the man in the middle, causing them to 'pop out' of the picture and be the main focus. The man in the middle is placed slightly in front of the two at the side, connoting that he holds more power than the others.