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Great use of depth in landscapes

Downton Abbey (2019) + Highclere Castle exterior shots

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Many use of landscape depths in the Harry Potter films

Happy Halloween! 🎃

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Week 11 — Free Topic: Asian-American representation in film

2018-2019 were good years for Asian-American representation in media. Now sure, before then, Asians were in films, but they were reduced to a side character or simply: a villain. It was practically unheard of for an Asian to be the lead(s) of a movie. 

Asian-American actors were criticized for many years because of their “expressionless” faces; which is why many did not believe they could play romantic leads or have the ability to be a main character.

With the four movies I’ve included above, the entire main cast or most of the main cast are Asian-American. And they are all romantic comedies, with the exception of The Farewell. Still, The Farewell, was a heartwarming movie about renewed family ties, proving that Asians can convey expressions other than villainous.

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Perhaps my favorite film marketing campaign of all time.

Ryan Reynolds, star of Deadpool, worked closely with Fox’s marketing chief, Marc Weinstock to promote the film across social media.

He did it through mock movie posters, parodies, PSAs, and other forms — all done in a Deadpool-like way.

The marketing was executed in a way that felt like it was coming from the titular character himself. It can’t get more genius than that.

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Film marketing at its finest.

HBO teamed up with the creators of Westworld to create an immersive and interactive theme park based on the town of Sweetwater from the show itself.

The event took place at SXSW in 2018. Fans were given a treat as they got to experience what being in their favorite show would be like, as well as a sneak peak into season 2.

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One of my favorite monologues from one of my favorite films. Taraji P. Henson is a fantastic actress.

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“Inviting her to review one of your pictures is like inviting the Boston Strangler to massage your neck.”

— Billy Wilder, on film critic Judith Crist

Judith Crist is regarded as one of the first female film critics to gain widespread recognition from her reviews in the New York Herald Tribune, New York magazine, and TV Guide. Crist was also the first female critic to have been published outside of “female-centric” magazines.

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Squares & Circles

In my previous posts, I’ve already explained what squares and circles each represent. The characters, Carl and Russell, from the 2009 film Up, are a great example of visual storytelling through these two shapes.

Carl has squared features, from his facial shape, to his glasses, and even through his fingers. Squares represent stasis and isolation, which as viewers already know, Carl is.

Russell has more rounded features as opposed to Carl. His facial structure is rounded, his fingers are, and his pilot eyewear (depicted in the 2nd image) are as well. This represents Russell as more youthful and joyful.

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Triangles

Triangles are perhaps the “angriest” of all shapes. You see them in childrens’ drawings of monsters and other things that have a pointy-end. The “pointy-ness” of a triangle elicits fear, distrust, and suspicion.

In many animated films, the villains are seen with lots of points and angles, never any rounded edges.

Take this image from Maleficent (2014) for example. Everything in this image has a triangular shape; from her headpiece, to the collar of her dress, to the implied shape that her arms and flames make.

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Squares

Squares represent stasis, stability, and strength; it can also represent things that are boring and/or old-fashioned.

In The Incredibles (2004), Bob/Mr. Incredible is seen working in an office with square/rectangular cubicles. The shape of them as well as the colors give off a sense of dullness and boreness that a 9-5 office job entails.

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Circles

Circles are considered “feminine” because they often represent things that are soft, nonthreatening, natural, and maternal.

That is why in many animated films, the “good guys” are depicted having round body shapes — like the one in the image above from the 2008 film Ponyo. His face is rounded as a whole, and his cheeks are also, which gives the visual image that he has chubby cheeks like a baby.

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Shapes are a method that cinematographers and directors use to add visual storytelling. Here’s a video I found that analyzes 29 films and the shapes they have in their frames.

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The Princess Diaries (2001), dir. Garry Marshall

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Shadows are used in films in order to create mood. The shadows used in these three films give a sense of darkness and adds emphasis to the subject matter.

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Great article on how important the use of shadow—and light!—are in film.

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A project I made senior year incorporating lights

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Interesting lighting techniques — Light vs Dark

The blurred background in both images give a sense of depth between the scenery and characters