Film Assignment: White Material

This picture above is the establishing shot in White Material. This shot actually happens in the beginning of the film and at the end. It serves as a type of foreshadowing mechanism. This shot shows the audience that the film takes place in a rural setting. It does not provide much more information than that.

Camera Angles

Throughout the film, there were several camera angles. The angles included close-up, high-angle, low-angle, and straight on. During some scenes, the camera acted as if it was from the audience's perspective.

Story Line

This story is about the Vial's, a French family, who has a coffee plantation in an African country. A civil war is taking place in this country and orders for all French people to leave have been set. The Vial's decide to stay and try to save their plantation. Maria Vial is determined to do everything in her power to save the plantation while the rest of her family has given up. Her son, Manuel, ends up joining the fight with the other native people. He ends up burning the plantation as well as himself. Maria is left to fend for herself.

The scene that made me uncomfortable was when the army came to their house and killed the native children. The bathtub scene got to me the most because of the blood. Another scene that made me uncomfortable was when Manuel went crazy and stuffed a ball of hair into Elisabeth's mouth.

Mise-en-Scene

There were mise-en-scene in the film. One that sticks out the most was at the end when Manuel decided to burn the planation as well as himself.

Roles of Actors

The characters that stick out the most in this film are Maria, Manuel, and the Boxer.

Isabelle Huppert, the actress who plays Maria, does an excellent job portraying a woman who is passionate about her life. She is determined to keep her plantation afloat. Her acting abilities certainly portray this throughout the film.

Nicolas Duvauchelle, the actor who plays Manuel, transforms from the lazy son to becoming part of native rebels in an outstanding way. I could feel how the transformation took place because of his acting abilities.

The Boxer is played by Issach De Bankole. The Boxer is supposed to be the legendary person in the country, but he turns up at their plantation as a weak person. His acting ability shows the desperation and longingness for this war to be over.

Music/Soundtrack

The music that made the most impact to me in the film was the radio. During various parts of the film, the radio played upbeat music that reminded me of African music. I found it ironic that during this awful time, there was upbeat music playing.

Genre

The genre of this film is a mixture of crime, drama, and action. There was a tremendous amount of crime and action in White Material. The drama between the Vial family as well as the native people was portrayed throughout the film.

Film Context

I left this film feeling somewhat confused and unsure of what exactly happened. Looking back, I believe this film shows the willingness of one strong woman to fight for what she lived for. She went to every extreme to save her beloved plantation. It also showed the terrible and tragic events that take places during a civil war.

Assignment #5

Jazz music has an upbeat tempo and swinging rhythm. Popular instruments that are heard in jazz music include the saxophone, the trumpet, the piano, and the drums. Jazz music came from African slaves. They brought this upbeat music to the United States. African Americans began creating this popular music in the 1900s.

In Peter and the Wolf, Peter is played by the strings. The duck is played by an oboe. The wolf is played by the french horn. The bird is played by the flute. The Grandfather is played by the bassoon. The Hunters are played by the Timpani drums.

Classical music has a nice flow and order. Popular instruments that are used in classical music include the piano, the violin, the flute, and the trumpet along with many others. Some of the classical musicians include Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart.



Assignment #4

This is a picture of Barnwell College, the psychology building at the University of South Carolina. This building was built in 1910. One of the features of the building are the iconic columns. These columns are iconic because they have spirals at the top. Another feature of the building is the decorative molding around the front windows and the front door. Along with the molding, there are decorative cornices on top of the front door and windows. The cornices are white molding that are on top of an object. Like many buildings around the University, this building's style is Greek revival because of the decorative columns.

Assignment #3

Everyday, I wash my hair. After a few minutes of enjoying the hot water pelting down my body, I open up the shampoo bottle. As I begin to massage my head, the aroma of flowers and spring take over the room. I let the suds do their work then rinse clean. Once the water has run clear, I open the conditioner bottle. While applying the conditioner, my hair begins to feel silky smooth. I let it soak in for a few minutes then rinse again.

Above is my picture that I drew in class. I am not familiar with opera at all, but felt moved by this piece. My picture seems happy because of the bright colors. The squiggly lines could be a sign of confusion like the singer was singing about. I wanted to know what was happening in the song as well as the whole story of the opera.

The establishing shot does just what the name says. It establishes the setting for the viewer. In the beginning of a movie, the establishing shot shows the audience where and when the movie takes place. I think the establishing shot is crucial to a movie. It would be boring and much less of an impact if there was just a paragraph on the screen telling us the setting in the beginning of the movie. 

Assignment #2

Fluency is being able to create many ideas. In order to be fluent, one must be able to form many different ideas about the same thing. Flexibility is being able to change from one idea to another. To me, this means being able to open to new ideas and not focusing on the first one that comes to mind. Originality is being able to create your own unique idea. Elaboration is being able to continue your idea in order to make it better.

Describe is the most basic stage of art criticism. In this stage, one describes the artist, the medium, how big the work of art is, and what characteristics the work of art contains. It is similar to a summary of a book. Analyze is the next stage which one uses the elements and principals of art and design to elaborate on the description. Interpret is one is thinking about what the work of art means, their feelings about the work, and any metaphors that may occur. Evaluate is the final stage in the Feldman Method. During this stage, one is able to state their perception of the work of art and why they liked it or not.

Assignment #1

§         Have you ever made art? What kind of art do you like?

o        I have made art before, but not recently, unless creating a tree out of cardboard boxes during my student teaching art! I enjoy all types of art. I am a craft kind of girl.

§         Have you ever made a drawing? A painting? A sculpture?

o        I have experimented with drawing and painting, but no sculptures.

§         When was the last time you went to a museum? Gallery? Artist studio?

o        It has been a while since my last visit to a museum, gallery, or artist studio. I traveled to Spain in high school and we went to several museums. My favorite was Salvador Dali’s!

§         Have you ever been to a play? Opera? Art Film? Do you dance?

o        Yes, I have been to several plays. My favorite plays happen to be Broadway ones. I saw Mamma Mia last year and fell in love! I have not been to an Opera before. Of the top of my head, I cannot think of an art film I have seen. I took Ballet and Jazz for several years growing up so yes, I “think” I can dance!

§         Under what conditions do you learn the most?

o        I learn best with visuals and through hands-on activities or experiences.

§         Why are you taking this class?

o        I am taking this class because I am an Early Childhood major.

§         Has any of the arts ever moved you in any way? How?

o        I think plays and ballets have moved me more than a piece of art. The music, movement, and story behind them are all moving.

§         What inspires you?

o        Music really inspires me. A good song can change my mood immediately.

§         What is art?

o         Anything that portrays a story.

§         Do you consider movies art? Music? Video games? Comics? Television?

o        Until this question, I did not consider any of those to be art. After reading this, I believe they are all different forms of art.

§         Who decided what is good art? How do they know?

o        I am not sure if there is one particular person that decided what good art is. Personally, I believe that each person takes away something different from art. It is up to the individual to decide whether or not it is good.

§         When you debate music or movies with your friends, what critical elements or standards do you hold them to?

o        With music, it is usually whether or not we can sing-a-long to it or if it sounds like something we’ve heard before.

o        With movies, our debates stem from whether or not we like the story line, the ending, the characters, or if they had good chemistry.

§         What was the best movie of last year?

o        I did not see many new movies last year so I’ll go with the most recent one, Country Strong.

§         What is an “Art Film”?

o        Tough question. The obvious answer is a film about art, but some how, I am thinking there is more than that!

§         What CD or MP3 is in your player?

o        A mix CD from a friend.