Cutaway

A transition that I think is interesting is the cutaway. A cutaway is when filmmaker is cutting away from the action to something else, and then coming back to the action. I think this is interesting because in this transition it is them talking about what is going to happen and in normal scene transition they will explain where they are going to be next but don't cut to it and then cut back to whats really going on.

The Whale Rider Historical Framework

From a historical frame work the movie the Whale Rider has an important dichotomy between individual and community. The traditional aspect of the tribe is that the community is led by a leader, and the leader is a chosen one who is usually the first born male. Pai is the true chosen one at this time but her grandfather does all that he can do to prove that she is not the one. Pai tries to reason with the tribe suggesting that they don’t need a leader, but they can all be leaders. This does not prove to be true. The community worked together to try and un-beach the whales but were unsuccessful. When Pai tried to un-beach the whale the wale broke free and was back in the water. Much like her being an individual leader the whales also had a leader. It was said that if they get the big one to move, then all of the other whales will follow. This was true. This shows that an individual is more important in the community as opposed to the community itself, proving that there needs to be a leader and that an individual is given privilege over community.

Movement

This scene from Braveheart shows the camera movement panning. I think that this camera movement is interesting because the camera is always moving and shows you so much of the scenery including the character and their expressions. During this scene William Wallace is climbing  mountain and the camera shows his journey to the top which ultimately is significant of his quest for solace. It is a powerful scene in the movie that shows the strong emotion of William Wallace and his commitment to trying to get freedom for his country.

The Road Home

The Road Home is a movie that focuses on a lot of symbolism. This movie was very interesting to me based on the symbolism, the symbolism that stood out to me the most was the food in the movie. Food has a lot of different characteristics that show what it stands for such as, its warm, comforting, takes time to make, brings people together, you have to pay attention to it while cooking, and it takes time and effort to make. Food symbolizes the relationship between Di and Luo. The relationship between them initially revolved around food when he first came to the town. The food was a deep focus in the movie when she would cook for the men working on the school making all of her best dishes in hopes that the school teacher would pick her dish to eat. Much like the food their relationship took time and effort to perfect and ultimately their love brought a lot of people together at the school teachers funeral. This movie had a lot of the symbolism in it but this was the symbolism that stuck out the most to me.

Question About The 400 Blows

Do you think that if Antoine and Rene weren't friends that Antoine would still be getting in trouble with stealing, skipping school, and running away?

Yes, I do. I think Antoine doesn't like authority figures telling him what to do. For this reason, Antoine has a side to his personality that just likes to rebel. Having said, this I don't think Antoine is a horrible child. While he is rebellious I don't think he would have started drinking or stealing from people if Rene did not encourage Antoine to steal and drink.-Raquel

Camera Shot

A camera shot that I find interesting is a point of view shot. This type of shot shows the viewer what a character is looking at. An example of a point of view shot is in the movie Titanic when Rose and Jack are dancing in the lower level of the ship. I find this type of film shot interesting because it puts the viewer in the shoes of the character and enables them to see the scene the way the character is, really giving focus to what is going on in the scene with the character. 

Visual Style of The 400 Blows

A visual style that the movie The 400 Blows uses is deep focus. Deep focus is when the camera doesn't focus on just one thing but it includes the whole picture. Deep focus shows the viewer the foreground, middle ground, and background in the shot. This kind of visual style is different and enables the viewer to focus on the whole picture instead of the focus telling the viewer where to look. I find this film style to be very interesting and keeps me engaged in what I am watching.