American Beauty Two

The Family

American Beauty clip

What is learnt about the family from the clip?

Very traditional family, all seated around the dinner table with candles etc. The daughter says about having the same music on 'again' hinting that this is a repetition of every night. The chat between Lester and the daughter in the kitchen reveal that they used to be closer, as do the family photos, they show a happy family, how the used to be. In these photos Lester stood over his wife showing he used to have authority.

Mise en Scene.

Lester sits and stands with a slumped posture, as if he's shrinking away from his life/responsabilities. The rose motif is used again, the vase of red roses in the centre of the table. The same colour pallette is used again, very neutral with red, blue and a splash of orange in the kitchen. These muted colours and the bland suburban background echo the continuous dullness of the families life. At the table the parents are sat far away from each other signifying the space thats between them, the daughter sits in the centre as if she's keeping her parents together. The candles and glowing around the daughters face and the only light is shining on her this shows the audience that she is one of the most important parts of the film.

Music

Bali Hai from South Pacific is playing in the background of the scene. This is a song thats always been around and is pretty old fashioned, it was the mothers choice showing that she has quite old fashioned views. When the discussion is taking place between Lester and his daughter in the kitchen the music changes to a slow sad rythm to enhance the scenes message. The music then changes again to a creepy chilling tune when the camera focuses on the man watching through the window, creating an uneasy atmostphere.

This is England & Hot Fuzz - Comparison

This is England & Hot Fuzz Comparision
Hot Fuzz and This is England

Warp Films

Production Company for This Is England.

Warp Films create artistic British music videos, short films and Cinema.

It was set up in Sheffield England funded by NESTA (National Endowments for science technology and the Arts). The company was formed in 1999 as the sister company to warp records. A second office in London is now open and is currently employng 14 full-time staff.

Warp Films most famous releases are Shane Meadows BAFTA award winning 'This is England'  and 'Dead Mans Shoes' short film 'Rubber Johnny' and the Arctic Monkeys 'At the Apollo' live tour.

This is England

Written by Shane Meadows.

His work includes Award winning This is England (2006), Dead Man's Shoes(2004), Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002), Twenty Four Seven (1997) and many more.

Shane Meadows is an English film write born in Staffordshire on 26th December 1972. The films he writes are usually based in the Midlands area and show elements of his childhood. Meadows does not sugar coat anything, his films show the reality regardless if it's shocking or disturbing.

Hey it's Tony from Skins!

Tony (Nicholas Hault)

• Appearance; He's an appearance concious lad, he works out, chooses his clothes precisely and checks himself out in mirror.
• Routine; He's got some pretty routines, firstly he's awake before his alarm, then moves on to the work out routine, next he checks out the woman in the house opposite and she is expecting him to showing that it's a regular occurrence. There's also the routine he uses to sneak his sister in, timed precisely. 
• First impressions; There is something about Tony that causes him to stand out from the usual stereotypical teeneagers. Most obviously is his neatness (clothes in the draws folded carefully) and his ability to get up quickly in the morning. Then there are the posters on his wall (the films 'Blow Up' and 8½) these are not what you'd expect to see on a teenage boys wall, cutting him apart from the stereotype. Then there's the book Tony is reading on the toilet, 'Nausea' by Jean Paul Sartre, this could put him across as being a little pretentious, this links in with the cocky and sneaky elements of his character that we see by the tricks he plays and the way he looks at the woman with confidence.

Skwl maga

School magazine and contents page starring Sam Burnham.

Hot Fuzz; Storyboard

Hott Fuzz

Director; Edgar Wright

                                                  Cast; Simon Pegg, Nick Frost   

both are stock actors the

casting director knows

they work well together and

has used them before.

Location; The opening is located in London

this is shown by the iconic images i.e Big Ben,

Metropolitan police station and the underground

are all shown. The location then moves to

Sanford, Gloustershire, this is a big contrast to

London as it has fields, famers, churches and

everybody knows everybody.

Stereotypes; In London it shows the

stereotypical City scenes of red buses,

Big Ben and the smart Police officers

investgating crime scenes.When the film

location changes to Sanford the stereotype

changes also, to the old fashioned pubs

and villagers who dress like farmers

and knoweverybodies business.

Humor; The style of humor in this film is

derived from the existing perceptions of the

police. The contrast in the stereotypes of

Police officers from different areas adds

humor. There are also elements of slapstick

in this film too.

Camerawork & Editing; There are lots of extreme close ups to catch facial expressions wich adds to the comedy. It uses fast pased editing to make mundain tasks seem exciting imitating the action genre also adding to the humor of the film. The pace then slows right down when the location changesto country side, showing the characters boredom and contrasting to the past paced City.

American Beauty

Lester Burnham

American Beauty opening

• Lester is trapped. There are visual and auditory clues throughout the film for example; his face reflects into his computer screen behind the bars of data showing. That is an obvious clue that he's trapped some aren't so obvious like the first shot when he's in bed and the shadows are covering him. Another is the repetitive music that shows he's stuck in a rut, then there re the shoes he puts on when he gets out of bed this shows he's being controlled by his wife. Then there's a shot of Lester behind the shower doors and one of him staring out of the window as if he wants to escape. Finally there's the car seating arrangement, usually it is kids in the back Mum as the passenger and Dad driving, but for Lester it's his wife driving, kid in the passenger and him in the back.

• Colours create an atmosphere. The house is completely neutral colours represents Lesters boring life, however there is a motif being used throughout. The motif is of a Red Rose, it appears when Lesters wife is pruning her roses and again on his daughters jumper. There are splashes of red and blue throughout, the colours of America, red, white and blue.

• The music can create an atmosphere also. Motif's aren't just visual but auditory too (think James Bond theme) the repetitive music shows Lesters routine, boring life and lack of excitement. The repetition can become annoying as if it is nagging him, creating an awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere.

Ralph ?

Representation;

First glance;

A tramp maybe? He looks unclean as if he smells not so fresh. His clothes are worn and patched, his shoes are scuffed and his face is aged with an unkept beard. His grey hair is straggly uderneath a wolly hat to block out the cold. He doesn't look as if he belongs or cares about his appearance. Perhaps he's a 'Secret Millionaire?'

Second glance;

The patches on his trousers are neat and sewn on with precision, his shoes fit well and are only slightly scuffed and his shirt fits him properly. His grey beard is infact well kept and trimmed neatly on further inspection and his scarf is tied in a somewhat fashionable manner. He is stood confidently suggesting he isn't ashamed as a homelessperson might be, puffing on a ciggarette with nicotine stain free hands.

Truth;

This man works for the famous designer Ralph Lauren, as an important buyer for the stores interior.

Informatica

      GCSE's ;

• A* - Textiles
• A - Art, English Lit, Maths, Biology, Chemistry.
• B - Drama, Physics, English Lang.
• C - Spanish.

   AS Courses ;

• Textiles.
• English Lang.
• ART

      Interests ;

• Films; This is England. Pulp Fiction.
• TV; Mighty Boosh. IT Crowd. Friends.
• Music; Guitar/Indie. Electro. Dub.
• Magazines; VOGUE. NME.
• Internet; Facebook. LOOKBOOK.
• Radio; Radio 1, Nick Grimshaw & Annie Mac.
• Games; Mario. Guitar Hero.

  I am doing media because, it's interesting. I enjoy listening, watching & reading about what's occuring in the media.