Task 2... continued...

Reading Two: Twilight

Psychological: wants and desires.

In the movie, Twilight, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, wants an desires are an essential part of the script, but they have underlying meanings behind them.

Bella Swan is a normal girl from a normal town who has had a normal life, but yet she falls in love with a vampire who could lash out and kill her at any moment. Why does she want and desire him? Why would someone so fragile want to be close with someone who only wants their blood? Of course we do not (usually) come across this problem in our everyday wants and desires but when we put ourselves in Bella Swans shoes, we have to think on a psychological level, what makes us wants a blood sucking vampire so bad.

I think humans are naturally attracted to the mysterious and the unknown. We want to know things that we don't already know so when we come across something so different and challenging or something that we can not easily read, we take the challenge on to try figure it out, and sometimes we do this with out thinking.

Even though Bella knows that Edward is attracted to her because of the smell of her blood and for that reason he feels very attached to her, but could this be mistaken for love and lust?

It seems to me that Bella's senses are blurred by the lust and wanting of something so charming and mysterious, that she only thinks with her heart, not her head. She doesn't take into consideration what could happen if it got out of control or if she got into danger. It's like the bad side has kicked the good side off her shoulder and that something is controlling her that she can't help.

This is a common problem in many people (not falling in love with vampires), they think that everything will be fine even though they know deep inside their hearts that they are not good for each other. The go for the chase not thinking about anyone else other then themselves. Bella did not think of her family and friends when she made the decision to be with Edward, therefore, she will have to deal with a consequences of her actions.

An example of her realizing that she may have made the wrong decision in the movie is after the no-mad vampires had discovered that she is human and they are chasing her and Alice is driving her to an airport, she is driving past her friends when it goes into slow motion, showing all her friends laughing and walking out of a shop, looking like a happy tight knit group. This shows us that for a second she regretted ever making a decision to be part of the Cullen family because of the trouble she was getting in and it made her realize that she could of had a normal life if she chose it.

So, what makes Edward so attractive that it makes every girl's heart in the audience skip a beat?

Well he's good looking with messy but tidy hair, a masculine jaw line, plump lips and smoldering eyes, but when you really look past it, he's arrogant, blood thirsty, a stalker and a little bit mean., but yet we still love him. He says he's a killer and a monster and that we should not trust him, but this just makes us want him more. Why? Because it is our human nature to want the 'bad boy'. He's dark and mysterious and there is always a dangerous element there but your lust for him is blocking your sense of what is right and what is wrong. You don't realize what influence he might have on you because you are so fixated on the 'good' things that they hide the very obvious bad things.

In conclusion, this movie is seen through Bella Swan's eyes so we see everything she see's. So if she looks past all of his bad points and ways, so will we. The character of Bella was made as plain, simple and uncomplicated as possible so that many of us girls can relate to her. We are, as woman, created to be attracted to the mysterious man. The man who can seem so perfect but also has a danger that we can not quite get hold of. In theory, I do understand Bella's absolute fixation for Edward but when you analyze her decisions and looks past how perfect he is, you can see all the warning signs flashing saying "stay away".

Lords of Dogtown... Continued... again...

Fast/slow motion

This technique is used quite sparingly in Lords of Dogtown compared to Twilight, but Catherine Hardwicke cleverly uses it in one scene when the Z-Boy's have found a empty pool in someone's backyard and have claimed it as their own skating bowl. As people started to draw attention to these mysterious guys skating in this empty pool, a group of 'hot' girls show up and as they enter it goes into slow motion to add a dramatic statement to their entrance and the low angle above everyone else and that everyone should be looking at them. Each one of the boys tries to win their attention so they each skate around the ball past them. When this happens and they go past them it goes into slow motion to show their technique of the skate board and to get the audience focus on what is going on, which dramatizes the situation and builds tension. After the slow motion it suddenly goes back to normal mode to contrast.

Task one: Lords of Dogtown... Continued

Coloration

The coloration used in this film is similar to Catherine Hardwicke's other films but it has warmer tones, to compliment the decade 0f the 70's, which is where the movie was based in and when you look back at old pictures from around that decade they have a very warm feel to them, but at some points in the film the saturation is quite low, like in the film Thirteen. An example of this is when the boys are surfing at the pair, the coloration of the film is icy and blue to show the coldness of the water and the air in the morning, but when the guys are skating the coloration is in warmer tones to show the sunshine and warmth of Venice Beach, California.

Shadows are used a lot in this film because a lot of it is filmed in darkness, but Catherine made it more real and raw but not really using big artificial light but usually natural light coming through a window or a dim light of an old ceiling lamp.

Task one: Lords of Dogtown.

Camera Movement

Like Catherine Hardwicke's other movies, Twilight and Thirteen, the camera movement is largely caused by hand held cameras but it slightly more stable then the other movies as I have noticed when watching them.

You see Hardwickes signature zoom in and zoom out camera movements a lot in this movie. An example of this is when the Z-Boys go down to the pair to go for a surf and the camera shakingly zooms in and out and pans across the poles of the pair where some people were surfing. The shakiness of the camera gives the movie a dirty, raw feel of Venice beach in the 1970's.

One of the scenes in this movie that I find very intriguing is the skating scene when the boys first try out the new oil based wheels someone gave them at the skate park. The whole thing was filmed on a skateboard it's self following another skateboard and the camera would have been taped on to the end of the board so all you could see is the the bottom on the board and the wheels turning on the concrete. This is a fantastic way of bringing in the skating culture and how it all works into the movie and makes it a lot more interesting. The camera movements when this happen are just going with the flow of the board so they are a bit shaky but that makes them raw and real.

Task one: Thirteen continued... again

Fast and slow motion

Fast and slow motion is used an awful lot in this movie compared to Twilight, but when analyzing it I did notice it in some areas which really made an impact.

An example of this is the opening of the film (which is showing part of a scene that you see later on in the movie) when there is a POV (point of view) shot of Tracey breathing slowly and looks to be in a calm but drugged up state. Slow motion is used here to create a dreamy effect that gives the audience some idea of how Tracey is feeling at this moment. The slow motion in this scene is also contrasted by loud, harsh, fast music which show that it isn't quite as dreamy as it seems and it has darker, underlying elements to it. The slow motion suddenly stops when Tracey smiles and says "hit me", the scene changes tempo and becomes more dangerous and less dream like.

Slow motion is also used in other parts of the film, for example when Evie gives Tracey her number and Tracey watches her walk away behind a slitted wall. This is a very shaky version of slow motion which includes zooming up and zooming out showing how Tracey is analyzing Evie as she walks away.

Another example is the first time Tracey gets high with Evie and they appear to be sitting on a spinning round about at a park that appears to be going slow motion to show, again, the dreamy, drugged feeling that they have which is then mixed fast motion of the camera zooming in and out quickly in fast flickers. It also goes into fast motion when they are playing in the sprinklers in short bursts and gives off a 'trippy' effect.

watch from 5.40

Task one: Thirteen continued

Coloration

Hardwicke used the coloration in the film Thirteen very cleverly. The whole movie has a blue tone to it which is evident through out her other films including Twilight and Lords of Dogtown. It is also used as symbolism in the film.

The coloration is used to follow the downward spiral Tracey goes on. At the start of the movie when she was a good A grade student with a good spirit, the coloration is more saturated and colorful, showing the she has more color and liveliness in her life. This is contrasted to the end of he film when Tracey is in the worst part of her life after she has gotten in to drugs, sex and making bad decisions caused by her new friend Evie, where the saturation was low and mixed with a dark blue, icy color, representing the coldness and darkness that has over come her life. This is a subtle difference that changes slowly through out the movie but when you analyze the movie further you really notice it and makes us understand the film more.

Hardwicke also uses this technique bring a raw, real element to her film, different to other movies and to create her trade mark so people could recognize the films she has made.

Task one: Thirteen

Camera Movement

Catherine Hardwicke decided that this film would be on a very low budget (for a Holywood film) for only $2mil. As a result the camera was very small and had to be hand held most of the time except for one tracking scene where they used a supermarket trolly to film it. This gives the movie an indie feel which very much suits and the narrative and story line of the movie and gives a raw, real feel to it. It almost feels like your sitting in the scene it's self with them and sometimes it as used as a POV (point of view) shot so you can see exactly what a character is looking at.

An interesting example of camera movement Hardwicke uses in this film is when Tracey starts to get into a fight with her brother and the camera starts tilting to the side and creating an uncomfortable and raw view of the scene and symbolizes how unsteady her life and relationships are at the moment. The camera tilts from side to side a few times and it almost feels like the house is tilting with it. As her brother moves back and she moves forward towards him the camera tilts towards her brothers way and when her brother goes towards Tracey, the camera tilts towards her way making the audience feel uneasy and unstable just how Tracey's life is.

This scene alternates between the tilting and shaky zoom, fast in's that make the scene feel crowded and full of fear. This emphasize peoples emotions in this scene and builds a lot of tension effectively.

Twilight Continued...again...

Fast and slow motion

Another important technique she uses in Twilight is the uses of slow motion. This is done in the editing stage of the film. Catherine uses this to dramatise important entrances and forces our eyes to concentrate on something about the person or what they are doing or what they look like. A few examples of this is when Bella and her friends are sitting at the cafeteria and Edward and the Cullen's walk in. The scene then goes into slow motion when they enter to show their power and magnificence. This, however does not last for very long as it goes back to normal pace after. This is very brief but very powerful and also introduces to the audience that these are main characters.

Another example of this is when Bella walks into to her Biology class and her entrance is in slow motion to force us, the audience to notice the fan behind her blowing her hair and then it cuts to Edward screwing up a piece of paper, almost in pain. This slow motion technique Hardwicke uses allows us to focus on an important part of the scene which could have a big significance to the movie as a whole. It doesn't exactly give us the answers but gives us a big clue to the story line of the movie.

Another example of slow motion Hardwicke uses in twilight is in the baseball scene when the Cullens invite Bella along to play baseball because there is going to be a thunder storm (this is the only time they can play the game). Slow motion and fast motion are used very effectively in this scene to show the excessive force and power these vampires have when they play this game. An example is when Alice say's "it's tim" and then then it goes into slow motion mode for a couple of seconds to show how graceful she is when she is about to throw the ball then it suddenly kicks in to fast motion to show the power she has when she throws the ball and how fast it's going. It then cuts to the balls in the air in slow motion then suddenly to fast motion when Roseanne whacks the ball to show her strength also. This is very effective and brings action into the film.

Task 2

Reading one: Twilight

Themes and ideas: Choices

Twilight is a film about a 17 year old girl called Bella Swan who moves to rainy and cold, Forks, Washington from sunny and dry, Phoenix, Arizona. She is a smart girl but shy and clumsy but everyone seems to want to be her friend. When she meets a charming but very mysterious boy called Edward Cullen and his equally mysterious family, she becomes enveloped in a world of wonder, love and lust. There was something about them that was different though... they were Vampires. This fact didn't seem to bother her so much as she was willing to do anything to turn into a vampire her self so she could be with Edward forever. This leads her into trouble when a tribe of no-mad vampires turn up and trys to hunt Bella down, causing considerable damage and almost killing her.

There is no distinctive main theme in this film but one that really stands out is the choices people make. Bella has the choice whether she wants to live a normal life with a normal family and growing old , but she can also choose and immortal life and lives with the Cullens for eternity and be this perfect creature with the power to do a lot of things. But these choices come with consequences. If she decides to stay mortal AND stay with Edward she will grow old while he will forever be 17, even when she is 80, but if she turns immortal she will always be with Edward who she loves so much but have a thirst for blood and have to leave her family and friends forever to hide her secret, which would be heartbreaking for her and them.

This theme teaches young teenagers (or who ever watches this movie) that the choices you make can have a great impact on everything you do. It could make your life amazing or it can completely ruin it. Thinking over what choices you make is a must because deciding these things on impulse might seem like a great idea at the time but can have dire consequences. For example in Twilight when Bella thought she got a call from her Mum, but it was actually a call from the Vampire that wanted to kill her and had told her that he had her Mum hostage in her old ballet studio, Bella had to make a quick decision that could mean the difference between life and death, either it was to save her mother from the monster and risk losing her life or save her own life and lose her mother. As a loving and caring daughter she chose to go to the Ballet studio to save her mother only to find out that her mother wasn't actually there, and it was just James luring Bella in to kill her. This decision that Bella made had to be quick and she didn't have time to think it out but she did the right thing, even though her mother was not in danger at all, but it shows that she is not selfish and is willing to sacrifice her life over others.

The theme of 'Choices' in this movie is quite broad and has many aspects to it. Another choice that has a big part in the film is the decisions the Cullen's made to only drink animal blood instead of human blood. They made this decision based on what is good for the community around them and that means they can learn to suppress their appetite a lot more around humans and that they can learn not to be monsters and pretend to be normal people fitting into a normal society.

In conclusion, the theme of 'choices' is heavily influenced in this film. A lot of choices had to be made and a lot of them with large consequences. The theme teaches the audience that you always have to think about the choices you are making in life because they can have a big impact on everything you do. This is being shown by the choices that Bella has to make and the choices that the Cullen's had to make about their life style, some for the better some for the worse.

Twilight Continued

Coloration

The coloration used in Twilight is very different to most other movies in Hollywood but is a reoccurring technique in Hardwicke's movies. The coloration throughout almost the entire movie is a blue/grey color making it almost look cold and icy, like the vampires in the movie. This coloration can also give us an idea and a feel of what the temperature of the place the movie was made in, Which is Fork's Washington, and is one of the coldest and rainiest towns in the continental USA. Hardwicke also uses this technique in twilight and her other movies (which is unique to her style) to compliment the narrative. This color changes in New Moon (the sequel) to possibly symbolize the introduction of the warm blooded wolves and their friendship, contrasted to the blue, icy color of twilight which may have represented the cold blooded vampires.

Task one

TWILIGHT

Camera Movement

In Twilight, Catherine Hardwicke uses various types of camera movement to get different results in her film. One of the most used and effective camera movement was achieved by using hand held cameras so the camera is not steady and it gives the effect of the audience being in the scenes like they are just sitting there observing it, almost from a point of veiw from the audience. An example of this is when Bella and her PE class are playing volleyball and the camera is moving rapidly and sharply between people passing the ball, giving us the effect of a head moving to keep up with the action of the game and it also make the scene look more intense and gives it more action.

Another camera movement Catherine Hardwicke uses is the use of panning. She uses this a lot instead of cutting because it's easier to keep track on what's going on instead of having flashing images. She uses this a lot when there is a conversation going on between many people. In Twilight she uses this camera movement effectively when Bella and her friends from school were outside of her car talking, there were about five of them. using a mid shot and panning around each of them as they talked (especially is they talked very briefly was a very effective way of keeping track and making the audience finding out who is talking when a lot simpler.

Hardwicke also used this camera movement effectively at the start of the movie when Bella and her Dad are inside of the police car on their way to his house in Forks, Washington. Hardwicke uses the technique of narrative dialouge with Bella talking to give us a better sense of what's going on and so she can give us more infomation about things. In the car, Bella say's in her narrative dialouge "and this is my Dad, Charlie". Iniatially the camera is facing Bella through the front window and as she says this line the camera quickly pans over to her father Charlie, introducing him so the audience can get more familiar with who is he as she starts explaining what he does etc

Watch from 2.29

Research Assignment 2

2000's Catherine Hardwicke was most influential in the 2000's (her first movie was filmed in 2003). The influence of this time is the changing of the social world around us and how things are becoming more accepted giving her freedom to think of more ideas for movie

Lead up to the decade In the 1990's a lot of things developed in our world which made it easier for us to live but also made us think about issues and causes around the world.

• The bombing of Iraq in (1998)


• The Gulf War (1990-1991) This was a war against Iraq


• Los Angeles Riots (1992) killed 53 people, 5,500 property fires in the space of 100km


• Oklahoma City bombing (1995) killed 168


• Bill Clinton was President in the United States and a huge Political figure in the 1990's. He is known for trying to resolve peace in the Middle East and the wars occuring in Yugoslavia. He also promoted to decrease the human created global warming and the endorsment in advertising Free Trade in The America's.


• Nelson Mandela was realeased from jail in Febuary 1990. This resulted in the end of the Apartheid in South Africa in 1994 marking the end of the orgional cival rights era.


• California made Marijuana legal for medical purposes only


• Gulf War Oil Spill (1991). Caused considerable damage to wild life


• The introduction of the internet


• YK2 panic in 1999 when everyone thought there will be a massive computer malfunction on January 1 2000. Everyone feared of a World disaster


• Email becomes popular and so does the Hotmail service


• MP3 players were released in 1998


• Instant messaging became popular


• Digital SLR's became widely avaliable


• The CD-ROM became standard in most personal computers


• Microsoft software becomes popular


• DNA identification of individulas becomes widely used in criminal wars


• Hubble space telescope launched in 1990


• NASA's spacecraft lands on Mars


• discovery of dark matter and identification of Black Holes


• Global Warming became a major concern.


• Columbine Shootings(1999). Twelve students and a teacher got killed.


• Britney Spears and The Spice Girls became world wide phenomenons


• Freddie Mercury (Queen) and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) Died


• Play stations became extremely popular

Political situation

In the 2000's, a lot of things happened in the political sector which captured that world.

Wars:

• "The War on Terrorism" began after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center (or The Twin Towers) In New York City in 2001 which killed 2992 people. The United States invaded Iraq, and the war led to the end of Saddam Hussein's rule as Iraqi president.


• Many terrorist attacks and bombings have continued on through the decade including the 2002 Bali Bombings(202 killed), the 2003 Istanbul's bombings(57 killed), the 2004 Madrid Train bombings(191 killed), the Beslan school hostage crisis (334 killed), 2005 Londan bombings (56 killed), 2008 Mumbai attacks (175 killed). Most of these were carried out by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.


• The war on Afghanistan started when the USA, UK, Canada and Australia invaded Afghanistan trying to find the Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden

Government and presidents

• On January 20th 2001, George W. Bush was elected the 43rd president of the United States of America. He represented the Republican Party.


• In 2009, Barack Obama, became the 44th president of the United States of America and also the first African American president in American history. He represents the Democratic party.

Socail situation

In the 2000's, same sex rights became more common with many countries recognizing civil unions and partnetships and some countries and states approving same sex marriages.

AIDS awareness became a huge thing in the 2000's. The virus had become so wide spread all over the world , mainly in Sub-Sahara Africa. 1.8 million people die of the diease per year. Many celebrities and high profile persons have made large foundations for people to donate money towards finding a cure for the deadly disease, which is fatal to everyone who is exposed to it.

Director study: Catherine Hardwicke

Biography

Full Name: Helen Catherine Hardwicke

DOB: October 21, 1995

Birth Place: Cameron, Texas, USA

Education: Graduated from McAllen High School in McAllen, Texas (Class of 1973)

Studied film at UCLA in the 1980's

Parents: Jamee Elberta and John Benjiman

Filmography

-Thirteen (2003)

This film is a powerful and dark story about a two teenage girls who come under the influence of drugs, sex and peer pressure and it shows the consequences of the choices she made in a raw way. It is influential because it shows real problems that people of our age face and in a real way and really makes you think about their issues. It shows the effect on their relationships with their families and friends and how much it can hurt people so this movie can influence people to drive people away from making destructive decisions.

- Lords of Dogtown (2005)

This movie is one of my favorite movies of all time simply because it is not made like most hollywood movies. Hardwicke really makes you feel like your living in Venice Beach in the 1970's while watching this film. This movie follows the story of the famous Z-Boys, reckless skaters and surfers who don't care about school and getting grades. It shows their sudden rise to fame and what consequences this this has on their family and social life. This is influential because it brings up the issues that fame brings into your life and how it can affect everyone around you

- Twilight (2008)

One of the most famous and influential (on pre teen girls) movie of the 21st century. Everyone has either read (the books), seen (the movie) or heard of The Twilight Saga. The cool thing that Catherine did with this movie is that she didn't use green screens or anything like that to create special effects. Almost everything was filmed directly and if anyone needed to do anything extreme she would use harnesses to get the effects of people flying or jumping high and of course edited on a computer slightly to make it more realistic. This shows that you don't have to use many difficult techniques to create a fantastic film with a lot of stunts.

Trademarks and motifs

Catherine Hardwicke often uses particular color and camera shots in her movies that make them unique. For example in Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown the colors are at a low saturation and

her the use of cameras feel atypical to a normal hollywood movie like it looks like the camera isn't standing on a stand but being held creating a raw and real atmosphere.

Frequently used actors, genres and narratives

In almost every one of the movies Catherine has made, she has cast the actress, Nikki Reed. She was a main character in the movie thirteen and she was the person Catherine got the idea from to make the movie and she actually co-wrote it with her. In Lords of Dogtown she plays the girlfriend of several of the boys and one of their sisters and in Twilight she plays one of the vampires.

Catherines most (or only) used genre is drama. This suits her style well because she is good at making it raw and dramatic with out creating it over the top and typical.

I have chosen to study this director because I really love the way she creates and directs her films and how she makes them feel different from typical hollywood movies. The way she uses colors and camera angles draws you in and catches your eye while the story lines are interesting and believable.

I will be study these three movies by Catherine Hardwicke

-Thirteen

-Lords of Dogtown

-Twilight

http://www.imdb.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Hardwicke