Both films are written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff in 2007. What i like about them is the use of architecture, space and the landscape. I loved to see how the characters interact with the environment, how they are affected by the architecture and space emotionally. The house, the park were portrayed as characters as well. Each scene hypnotized me. I wasn't interested in the plot actually but i just wanted to look at the screen. I was drawn. Just by looking at the visions you experience the emotions. It can be your emotions as well not necessarily the characters'. You travel with them and feel the power of the empty and robust house on the characters. The environment, the music, the slow and smooth camera movements invite you to join the journey.
So, you've got two recommendations from me at 5 am:)
love,
Şeyda
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
About Elly
"About Elly" ("Darbareye Elly")(2009) is a an Iranian Film directed by Asghar Farhadi, who is also the writer of the screenplay and the producer. I saw the film on tv yesterday and couldn't breath for awhile. The film is a drama. I didn't see it all on purpose cause it affected me so much.
The element i want to write about is again the sound. The film illustrates the power of the sound very well.
In the beginning of the movie a kid disappears in the sea which creates an enormous kaos and fear. People (relatives and friends) jump into the sea and run around so that they could find him. Finally they manage to save him but as soon as they think he has been saved and ok they realize that one of the women who has also been looking for the boy is missing. This is how the kaos, fear, stress, sadness stays in the scene and throughout the movie. All these negative feelings, the heavy mood have been illustrated very intensely. During the scene the audience hears the sound of the wavy sea very laud and constantly. This very dominant sound is not pleasant. It is scary, strong, wild. It makes you realize that you are so tiny and weak and the sea can swallow you, it is dangerous, it is wild. This is is not the same sea any more where you go to swim to relax and have fun on your holidays. This sound makes the viewer so nervous. You get scared and distracted at the same time. You wanna stop the sound for a second for a tiny bit of relief. But neither you nor the characters can do that. The missing girl couldn't be found till the end of the film. Therefore the nervous and sad mood stays till the end of the film as well as the sound of the wild gray sea.
I find the film very strong. It motivates me to learn more about Iranian cinema. I higly recommend.
Hope to write about another Iranian film soon.
Love,
Şeyda
The element i want to write about is again the sound. The film illustrates the power of the sound very well.
In the beginning of the movie a kid disappears in the sea which creates an enormous kaos and fear. People (relatives and friends) jump into the sea and run around so that they could find him. Finally they manage to save him but as soon as they think he has been saved and ok they realize that one of the women who has also been looking for the boy is missing. This is how the kaos, fear, stress, sadness stays in the scene and throughout the movie. All these negative feelings, the heavy mood have been illustrated very intensely. During the scene the audience hears the sound of the wavy sea very laud and constantly. This very dominant sound is not pleasant. It is scary, strong, wild. It makes you realize that you are so tiny and weak and the sea can swallow you, it is dangerous, it is wild. This is is not the same sea any more where you go to swim to relax and have fun on your holidays. This sound makes the viewer so nervous. You get scared and distracted at the same time. You wanna stop the sound for a second for a tiny bit of relief. But neither you nor the characters can do that. The missing girl couldn't be found till the end of the film. Therefore the nervous and sad mood stays till the end of the film as well as the sound of the wild gray sea.
I find the film very strong. It motivates me to learn more about Iranian cinema. I higly recommend.
Hope to write about another Iranian film soon.
Love,
Şeyda
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Metaphor Model
When I was doing my MA on visual culture, i studied a course called audio-visual culture, which we are introduced to some models and theories in order to analyze audio-visual culture. Since i found the chance to use my music background i enjoyed the course a lot. One of these models we studied is Metaphor model, which i would like to explain briefly by applying it to the film ‘Atonement’.
Atonement trailer
Academy Awards Coverage on MySpace | MySpace Video
Metaphor model takes similarities as a starting point. But it must be emphasized that similarity doesn’t mean ‘the same’. Similarity also means difference or if I put another way it bears differences at the same time. Cook says ‘the metaphor model…invokes similarity not as an end, but as a means. Meaning now inheres not in similarity, but in the difference that similarity articulates by virtue of the transfer of attributes’ (Cook, 81). He gives the example by Lakoff and Johnson which is ‘love is war’. This metaphor draws the attention to the common features of war and love such as having two parties and involving conquest. But at the same time they can be considered totally different. He continues ‘the meaning of the metaphor does not lie in the enabling similarity, it lies in what the similarity enables, which is to say, the transfer of attributes from one term of the metaphor to the other’ (Cook, 70). I think it is a very useful model to understand audio visual products.
Cook thinks Psycho is a good example to explain metaphor model. He looks at the sequence which Marion drives the car in the rain till Bates Hotel. ‘He says Hermann’s angular, repetitive music doesn’t connect in a literal manner with anything that is visible on the screen; it does not obviously synchronize….with the regular rhythm of the wiper blades, or the irregular rhythms outlined by the oncoming cars’(Cook, 66). But the music corresponds to the nervous mood and inner thoughts of the character. Although the music and the visuals look different they have common features which help to transfer meanings.
I will analyze the score of Atonement, which is composed by Dario Marianelli, as an example. The movie is a drama which includes a tragic love story. I will not give too many details about the plot since the article is not large enough. The narrator, who is also one of the main characters, is a writer and she is responsible for the drama. But there is another element causes the whole tragedy; a letter written on a typewriter by the main male character Robbie. So, therefore, the composer uses the typewriter sound in the music as percussion. But in general his music is very classical using piano and strings to capture the romantic and emotional mood of the story but also the period which the story takes place. So the period and romantic mood captured by classical instruments can be considered as similarities with the images. On the other hand, use of typewriter sound as percussion, which creates a contrast, is very innovative and makes both the music and the scene more attractive. But also the narration of the movie is innovative too, so that’s why, although the use of type writer sound creates a contrast in the scenes, it goes parallel with the general nature of the movie and it completes it perfectly once again. Thus, music completes the visuals both by making contrast and also going parallel. To sum up, music enhances the effect of the visuals and the narration dramatically and the visuals give meaning to the music-for example, explains why we hear typewriter sound.
Well...This was an introduction and an application of the metaphor model briefly. Hope to meet you guys for another model:)
Bibliography
Cook, Nicholas, Analyzing Musical Multimedia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Atonement trailer
Academy Awards Coverage on MySpace | MySpace Video
Metaphor model takes similarities as a starting point. But it must be emphasized that similarity doesn’t mean ‘the same’. Similarity also means difference or if I put another way it bears differences at the same time. Cook says ‘the metaphor model…invokes similarity not as an end, but as a means. Meaning now inheres not in similarity, but in the difference that similarity articulates by virtue of the transfer of attributes’ (Cook, 81). He gives the example by Lakoff and Johnson which is ‘love is war’. This metaphor draws the attention to the common features of war and love such as having two parties and involving conquest. But at the same time they can be considered totally different. He continues ‘the meaning of the metaphor does not lie in the enabling similarity, it lies in what the similarity enables, which is to say, the transfer of attributes from one term of the metaphor to the other’ (Cook, 70). I think it is a very useful model to understand audio visual products.
Cook thinks Psycho is a good example to explain metaphor model. He looks at the sequence which Marion drives the car in the rain till Bates Hotel. ‘He says Hermann’s angular, repetitive music doesn’t connect in a literal manner with anything that is visible on the screen; it does not obviously synchronize….with the regular rhythm of the wiper blades, or the irregular rhythms outlined by the oncoming cars’(Cook, 66). But the music corresponds to the nervous mood and inner thoughts of the character. Although the music and the visuals look different they have common features which help to transfer meanings.
I will analyze the score of Atonement, which is composed by Dario Marianelli, as an example. The movie is a drama which includes a tragic love story. I will not give too many details about the plot since the article is not large enough. The narrator, who is also one of the main characters, is a writer and she is responsible for the drama. But there is another element causes the whole tragedy; a letter written on a typewriter by the main male character Robbie. So, therefore, the composer uses the typewriter sound in the music as percussion. But in general his music is very classical using piano and strings to capture the romantic and emotional mood of the story but also the period which the story takes place. So the period and romantic mood captured by classical instruments can be considered as similarities with the images. On the other hand, use of typewriter sound as percussion, which creates a contrast, is very innovative and makes both the music and the scene more attractive. But also the narration of the movie is innovative too, so that’s why, although the use of type writer sound creates a contrast in the scenes, it goes parallel with the general nature of the movie and it completes it perfectly once again. Thus, music completes the visuals both by making contrast and also going parallel. To sum up, music enhances the effect of the visuals and the narration dramatically and the visuals give meaning to the music-for example, explains why we hear typewriter sound.
Well...This was an introduction and an application of the metaphor model briefly. Hope to meet you guys for another model:)
Bibliography
Cook, Nicholas, Analyzing Musical Multimedia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
What shall we watch?
I have noticed that it is getting difficult to decide on what to watch.
I spend so much time at our local DVD shop to rent a movie going through many movies, but nothing seems to be that much interesting to me. Some movies are so depressing, some are so lame, some are so predictable...
So, I am open for recommendations.
I really missed watching French movies for instance, any ideas?
I spend so much time at our local DVD shop to rent a movie going through many movies, but nothing seems to be that much interesting to me. Some movies are so depressing, some are so lame, some are so predictable...
So, I am open for recommendations.
I really missed watching French movies for instance, any ideas?
Friday, July 16, 2010
Eclipse, It Was!
And a total eclipse it was!Darkness hovered all around which made it unbearable by the minute. It was not like I was expecting much from this third part of the Twilight Saga anyways. It never quite caught my interest. But hearing all the hype and being surrounded by some ardent fans, I basically gave in to watching this movie. & I thought why not give it a chance, it definitely would be an awesome experience to watch a vampire movie in Transylvania out of all places! The land of Vlad the Dracula ( maybe a distant cousins of the vampires). Well to me, Vampires or Draculas, what difference does it make, they're all the same... & Yes we did get to see a Romanian flag in the movie, rightly and proudly pointed by my brother :) Coming back to the movie, I think it is blatantly clear that acting is poor. I know it is supposedly this heartfelt love story between Bella and Edward, but I fail to see any spark there or the reason for the sexual tension between Bella and Werewolf boy! Nothing makes sense, even Bella's apparent confusion between vampire Edward or werewolf Jacob!! I thought she was madly in loooveee with Edward and that was the basis of the movie. Apparently noooot, coz she's all messed up in the head!! The movie is so slooowwwww, and too predictable, it leaves no room for the activation of our neurones! I have to say I don't understand why The Twilight Saga has become such a huge success, why were the cast on Oprah, why are there fan following all around the world! It just makes no sense, when u have a beau Ian Somerhalder in Vampire Diaries(verging on cheese here, but I can;t help it)! Anyways I don't think it is worth analysing in detail, coz there is not much that can be said. If I may say, I think Vlad would have been very disapponited!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Making it Visible
With Şeyda we are back in Turkey.
Quite difficult not to miss our life in Sweden.
We hope that movies will be a bit helpful.
Soooooooooo, as we used to do, I dropped by our favorite DVD shop 'Filim Hakan' which unexpectedly from a local shop, has a wide spectrum of movies.
To be honest, I dont like downloading movies; might sound a bit stupid for some though. I like spending time in the shop, going through the movies, talking to the owner, getting his opinions, and listening to mostly quite stupid comments of the other customers :) way too enjoying than waiting for the downloading status to get 100%.
Anyways, after spending 20 minutes I rented the movie 'Dark Blue Almost Black' by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.
Great movie! The story, acting, and the pictures...So natural and so real. Loved it, but was soooo heavy for us, as in some ways very similar to what we have been experiencing in the last years. It is about the struggle of a 25-year-old boy trying to find a way out from his life which somehow he got stucked with but not like escaping I think, rather trying to get what he had aimed and worked for so that things would change into a more positive direction.
After the movie, we talked with Şeyda how cinema is powerful in making things visible. For instance, I have noticed that in general when I talk with people about how hard it is with mom's situation and all neither I am good at telling it well nor they are good at feeling it. But a movie can do that. It locks the audience to the story with visuals, narration, and the audio. As the audience you are an outsider but still very much like an insider. Sometimes it introduces you sth. new and sometimes it just makes sth you havent noticed, although you should have, visible.
May be we should try to find the movies that tells what we want to tell and make others watch that, might be easier than trying to tell it ourselves.
Quite difficult not to miss our life in Sweden.
We hope that movies will be a bit helpful.
Soooooooooo, as we used to do, I dropped by our favorite DVD shop 'Filim Hakan' which unexpectedly from a local shop, has a wide spectrum of movies.
To be honest, I dont like downloading movies; might sound a bit stupid for some though. I like spending time in the shop, going through the movies, talking to the owner, getting his opinions, and listening to mostly quite stupid comments of the other customers :) way too enjoying than waiting for the downloading status to get 100%.
Anyways, after spending 20 minutes I rented the movie 'Dark Blue Almost Black' by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.
Great movie! The story, acting, and the pictures...So natural and so real. Loved it, but was soooo heavy for us, as in some ways very similar to what we have been experiencing in the last years. It is about the struggle of a 25-year-old boy trying to find a way out from his life which somehow he got stucked with but not like escaping I think, rather trying to get what he had aimed and worked for so that things would change into a more positive direction.
After the movie, we talked with Şeyda how cinema is powerful in making things visible. For instance, I have noticed that in general when I talk with people about how hard it is with mom's situation and all neither I am good at telling it well nor they are good at feeling it. But a movie can do that. It locks the audience to the story with visuals, narration, and the audio. As the audience you are an outsider but still very much like an insider. Sometimes it introduces you sth. new and sometimes it just makes sth you havent noticed, although you should have, visible.
May be we should try to find the movies that tells what we want to tell and make others watch that, might be easier than trying to tell it ourselves.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
An 'Alice in Wonderland' Experience
I have just seen the movie Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton. It was a surprising decision for me since I really dont like the whole Alice in Wonderland story, mainly because of the memories I have in mind from my childhood when I watched I guess a Disney version cartoon movie of it. I think I have never read the story. All I remember from that cartoon is the annoying feeling, the struggle, and the play cards. I was so annoyed that I for some time hated play cards as well :)
Anyways, just to integrate with friends I decided to see it, and after all it was by Tim Burton and Depp was in it, olalala :) As always I had some expectations from the movie, but unfortunately kind of disappointed. I think, if you are making a movie about a known story you should bring something extraordinary with the whole audio-visual elements like the music, costumes, scenes, characters,etc. However, in the movie, although there were some original designs, overall you dont experience a very surprising and memorable visual experience. Moreover, some decisions seem to be made just for the sake of originality without a meaning behind. For instance, there were two queens, and I really hated the design of the white queen. Everything was so conventional about her, white princess kind of dress, the castle and all, the movements of her arms, the way she talks, etc. But she had very dark lipstick and fingernails, almost black. It looked so ugly, and no white queen effect which was supposed to represent the good. Why? Was it the only element that they could bring some kind of an edge? Apart from the visual stuff, I think the movie lacked a fun approach. It was quite dull. Neither the dialogues nor the choreography was good enough to make the experience fun. Of course it doesnt have to, but then it becomes dull :) The audio elements were not strong as well at least for me that I dont remember any melody :) I just remember that there was kind of a modern music, I mean from this time that doesnt really match with the story, which created a contrast and become memorable.
About the actors, I wasnt that impressed as well. First of all, Alice was such a boring girl, i think she doesnt have the 'it' factor that makes you want to watch her act regardless from the role. For Depp, I think I am kind of bored of seeing him play these kinds of characters, you can see some same elements among all them, so the originality of his acting starts to fade away. I think he should start playing normal humans again so that he can refresh himself. yes Depp, you should take my advice, I am such an expert after all :) But I loved the caterpillar, Alan Rickman, I love how he talks.
What else? Hımmm. A few comments about the cinema design. We had to watch the movie from the second row, which left a neck pain, because it is sooooo close to the screen. It is surprising that there are no standards accepted for cinema design to create a better, ergonomic experience to the audience. Don't they know that it is soo close? Why do they keep placing seats to 1 meter away from the screen. I think it is not humanitarian. In architectural decisions there are so many regulations, and there should be one for this as well.
Anyways, just to integrate with friends I decided to see it, and after all it was by Tim Burton and Depp was in it, olalala :) As always I had some expectations from the movie, but unfortunately kind of disappointed. I think, if you are making a movie about a known story you should bring something extraordinary with the whole audio-visual elements like the music, costumes, scenes, characters,etc. However, in the movie, although there were some original designs, overall you dont experience a very surprising and memorable visual experience. Moreover, some decisions seem to be made just for the sake of originality without a meaning behind. For instance, there were two queens, and I really hated the design of the white queen. Everything was so conventional about her, white princess kind of dress, the castle and all, the movements of her arms, the way she talks, etc. But she had very dark lipstick and fingernails, almost black. It looked so ugly, and no white queen effect which was supposed to represent the good. Why? Was it the only element that they could bring some kind of an edge? Apart from the visual stuff, I think the movie lacked a fun approach. It was quite dull. Neither the dialogues nor the choreography was good enough to make the experience fun. Of course it doesnt have to, but then it becomes dull :) The audio elements were not strong as well at least for me that I dont remember any melody :) I just remember that there was kind of a modern music, I mean from this time that doesnt really match with the story, which created a contrast and become memorable.
About the actors, I wasnt that impressed as well. First of all, Alice was such a boring girl, i think she doesnt have the 'it' factor that makes you want to watch her act regardless from the role. For Depp, I think I am kind of bored of seeing him play these kinds of characters, you can see some same elements among all them, so the originality of his acting starts to fade away. I think he should start playing normal humans again so that he can refresh himself. yes Depp, you should take my advice, I am such an expert after all :) But I loved the caterpillar, Alan Rickman, I love how he talks.
What else? Hımmm. A few comments about the cinema design. We had to watch the movie from the second row, which left a neck pain, because it is sooooo close to the screen. It is surprising that there are no standards accepted for cinema design to create a better, ergonomic experience to the audience. Don't they know that it is soo close? Why do they keep placing seats to 1 meter away from the screen. I think it is not humanitarian. In architectural decisions there are so many regulations, and there should be one for this as well.
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