The Day After Tomorrow Analysis Homework

There are many micro elements used in the Day Ater Tomorrow ( Emmerich, 2004), each used to achieve various effects on the audience.

Lighting is used to great effect in the sequence where tornadoes hit Los Angeles. After a tornado has ravaged the nameless character we have been following, he goes over to the door down the corridor to open it. We then are shown him from behind opening the door which causes a bright light to enter and illuminates the corridor. This is a great effect because it not only looks visually stunning, but also gives the effect to the audience that something of great significance is beoynd the door and that it is of great power and scale.

Sound is also used effectively particulalry in the scene where the main character have to hide from the incoming tidal wave in the library in Manhatthan. Throughout the sequence we can hear sirens and car horns repeatedly. This gives the impression that the traffic halt is widespread and adds to the tension of the scene as it shows that the danger is on large scale. Another not worthy use of sound is the scene wherein our heroes venture into the russian boat to find medical supplies. Where can hear the main characters panting and gasping for breath, which gives the impression to the audience that the group are in desperate times and are exhausted , clearly in a difficult situation. The film clearly presents the threat of the cold to the audience throughout with the use of the wind blowing o show how low the temperature is and how harsh the conditions are.

The locations of the film also add to the tension and excitement of the film. We see famous landmarks such as the statue of liberty and the hollywood sign, both in a bad state, the former being completely frozen over from a tidal wave that struck it and the latter being completely ripped to shreds from a passing tornado. This makes the event have more impact to the audience as it shows the scale of the destruction ,as the two places are far apart, as well as showing that nowhere is safe.

The colours of the film are very muted in tone. As the film charts the worlds dawn into a new ice age, many of the set peices features lots of snowy weather such as hail and ice. The film first shows storms that have grey tones of colour connoting to the audience that the circumstances of the situation are very bleak and that there is a small chance of survival. As the film progresses we are shown more and more white tones, which can connotes to the audience the theme of new beginnings.

Genre Homework

1. List five key ways in which we identify genre?
2. Describe the typical setting for either science fiction, action or horror
3. Discuss three ways in which genre is used by an audience
4. Why is genre important to the film-maker?

1. We can identify genre through five key ways:
     -the characters
     -the setting
     -the narrative
     -the style
     -the props or significant objects

2. Each genre will have a typical setting to help identify it.

For science fiction the film is usually set in the future, in space, alternate dimensions or unknown planets.
For action the film is usually set in either a city or exotic locales with a contempary setting such as a jungle.
For horror the film is usually set in somewhere secluded and far from civilisation, such as a smalll village in the country.

3. Genre is used by an audience to tell what kind of experience the film will be, using it to see if they will like or dislike the film by the genre it is in and whether it will grab them and mke them want to watch it.

4. Genre is important to the film maker so that he/she knows what film they are going to make so that they ca stay true to certain codes and conventions which make a genre. If the director wants to make a horror film then they must follow these codes and conventions to make sure it stays primarily n that realm, and doesnt deviate too far that it is no longer appealing to the original audience they wanted to draw in. It is also important so that the director can tell the distributor so that they can market it accordingly and draw in the right audience.

Matt.

Kill Bill Sequence Micro Feature Analysis

Kill Bill Sequence Micro Feature Analysis

The first post credits scene in Kill Bill shows the protagonist assassinating the second target on her list of revenge.  We start off with an establishing shot of the location of the scene, which is a typical suburban area in America. A yellow car then pulls up in front of the house. The colour of the car can be associated with the notion of something rising. This connects with the Bride as she is rising from her near death experience to once again become strong and seek revenge on those who betrayed her.

When we see the Bride in the car she is staring intently with a look of anger, whilst tightly gripping the steering wheel. This tells us that she is determined to do what she has come here for and that she is very driven. She is wearing a red top, which can be associated with anger but also courage; she must definitely show courage if she is to defeat her enemies. She is also wearing a gold jacket, this colour can be associated with courage, confidence and willpower. These are all character traits of the bride.

As the Bride walks up to the door we can see toys on the lawn, which would imply that a child lives in the house. While the Bride is waiting at the door she has an unwavering look of determination, this connotes that she is fully prepared and ready for what she is going to do. We can hear  a woman on the other side of the door, she has a tone of happiness and joy in her voice. This connotes that she has left whatever shady past she had behind her. The woman is wearing a blue tracksuit which can be associated with sadness or guilt. This connotes that she feels remorse for the things she has done.

When she opens the door the woman has a look of surprise, indicating that she was not expecting the bride. The camera then immediately cuts back to the bride and zooms into an extreme close up of her eyes. At the same time we can hear sharp, striking music which is non-diegetic and also an example of parallel sound. The sequences then cross fades with another that is presented in a red wash. This identifies a flashback. We see the woman hit the bride in the flashback and she is knocked to the grounded wounded, whilst we can see the extreme close up of her eyes and can still hear the parallel sound. This combines to create the feeling that the two characters have a history together, and that the bride has a personal vendetta against her implied by the extreme close up and the colour of the flashback which can represent anger.

The two fight in the woman’s house. We can see that the walls of the living room are also painted blue, continuing the connotations of sadness and guilt. The walls of her kitchen are yellow which can be associated with enjoyment of life. This connotes that she leads a better life than the one she left behind her.

The fight leads back into the living room and the camera moves to the side to show a two-shot. The women stand on opposite sides which connotes that they are on opposing sides one good and the other evil. In the shot we can see outside the window which is important as a school bus pulls up to drop off the woman’s daughter. The yellow school bus entering the scene could symbolise how her daughter has made her life happier.

When the woman realises her daughter is approaching she gives the bride a pleading look to stop fighting. The bride driven face lets up and she gives a sigh before hiding the knife in front of her daughter who comes into the house. This connotes that the bride has a conscience and moral standards; this also helps to show she is on the side of good.

The child daughter is wearing predominantly pink, which connotes sweetness and innocence.

Kill Bill: The Stars

Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2 stars american actress Uma Thurman as 'The Bride'. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas, to science fiction and action movies. Uma had previously worked with Tarantino in Pulp Fiction ( Tarantino, 1994). Other notable acting credits include her work on films  Dangerous Liaisons ( Frears, 1988) and Gattaca ( Niccol, 1997).

The title character of Bill is played by the late David Carradine. An American character actor, best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu and its 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. He died on June 4, 2009 under unusual circumstances.

Lucy Lui, who plays O-Ren Ishii, is a chinese-american actress.  She became known for her role in the television series Ally McBeal (1998–2002) as the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo, and has also appeared in several notable film roles, including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, and Kung Fu Panda.



The film also stars Micheal Madsen as Bill's brother Budd, Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver and Vivicia A. Fox as Vernita Green. Madsen had previously worked with Tarantino in Reserviour Dogs ( Tarantino, 1992). 

Matt.



Kill Bill: The studio, Locations and Budgets

 Kill Bill: Volume 1 was made by Quentin Tarantino's production company A Band Apart, Japanese anime studio and production enterprise Production I.G , and Super Cool Manchu.

Production I.G  was responsible for the films animated sequence.

 Filming took place in California, Texas, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Mexico. The budget for the film was $30 million.

Matt.

Kill Bill: Conception to screenplay

The concept of Kill Bill was concieved on the set of Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994) between director Quentin Tarantino and actress Uma Thurman. The basic storyline of the film -  a woman seeks revenge on a group of people, crossing them off a list one by one as she kills them - is adapted from Lady Snowblood (Fujita, 1973) a japenese film in which a woman kills off the gang who murdered her family.

Uma on the set of Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994).

The screenplay was written by Tarantino, and the character of 'The Bride' is credited as being created by 'Q' and 'U', obviously refering to Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman. Kill Bill pays tribute to film genres including the spaghetti western, blaxploitation, Chinese wuxia, Japanese yakuza films, Japanese samurai cinema, and kung fu movies of the 1960s and 1970s. The film features many references to other movies and even directly recreates scenes from them.The climactic battle at the end of the first volume between 'The Bride' and O-Ren Ishii is vertually identical to the one in japanese film Sex and Fury (Suzuki, 1973).

One of many references to old genres present in the film.

Other movies that proved influentual in the ideas behind Kill Bill include swedish film  Thriller - en grym film (Vibenius, 1973), japanese film Samurai Reincarnation (Fukasaku, 1981), and manga series Lone Wolf and Cub.

Matt.

Kill Bill: The Director

Kill Bill: Vol 1( Tarantino, 2003) and Kill Bill: Vol 2 ( Tarantino, 2004) were both directed by acclaimed director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino.

Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Connie McHugh Tarantino Zastoupil, a health care executive and nurse, and Tony Tarantino, an actor and amateur musician who was born in Queens, New York. Tarantino's father is Italian American and his mother is of Irish and Cherokee ancestry.

Tarantino wrote True Romance ( Scott, 1993), which was formed from the basis of his first directoral effort My Best Friends Baby (Tarantino,1987). At the 1992 Sundance Film Festival Tarantino screened Reserviour Dogs ( Tarantino, 1992) which he directed, wrote and starred in. The film was well recieved and garnered nominations in the independent spirit award for best feature film and best director.

                                                      Reserviour Dogs ( Tarantino, 1992)

 Tarantino then sold the screenplays to True Romance (Scott, 1993) and Natural Born Killers (Stone, 1994), the latter of which he was only given story credit after several script revisions.

                                                           True Romance (Stone, 1993)

Following his sucess with Reserviour Dogs, Tarantino was offered many films from Hollywood including Men In Black (Sonnenfeld, 1997), but instead chose to work on  Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994) which he wrote and directed. The film also garnered critical acclaimed and won a Bafta for best original screenplay. Tarantino's third film was Jackie Brown (Tarantino, 1997), about six people all paying each other for a bag containing one million dollars.

                                                       Pulp Fiction ( Tarantino, 1994)

His fourth and fifth films were Kill Bill: Vol 1( Tarantino, 2003) and Kill Bill Vol 2 (Tarantino, 2004), which is the study of my coursework.

                                                        Kill Bill: Vol 1 (Tarantino, 2003)

Tarantino collaborated with friend Robert Rodriguez for Grindhouse (2007) a collection of two films with Tarantinos contribution being Death Proof (Tarantino, 2007). Tarantino has collaborated with Rodriguez a number of times, such as on Sin City ( Rodriguez, 2005) where he is credited as guest director.

                                                             Tarantino with Rodriguez.                                                                     
Tarantinos lastest film was Inglourious Basterds ( Tarantino, 2009), a war epic about a group of guerilla US soldiers in nazi-occupied France.

                                                       Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino, 2009)

Tarantinos next projects include a planned sequel to Grindhouse (2007) and Kill Bill: Vol 3.

Grindhouse (2007)

Tarantino include many of the same actors in his films. He has worked with actors and actresses Harvey Kietel, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Buscemi, Micheal Madsen, Tim Roth, and Uma Thurman on numerous films.

Samuel L. Jackson had a starring role in Pulp Fiction ( Tarantino, 1994) aswell as having a cameo in Kill Bill: Vol 2 ( Tarantino, 2004) and was the narrator in Inglourious Basterds ( Tarantino, 2009).

Quentin Tarantino is one of my favourite film directors of all time. His films always feature interesting and rich characters, aswell as inspired references on old genres. I especially love his non-linear story structure and his  unexpected plot twists. His films deserve the acclaim they have recieved, and he will surely continue to produce five-star features well into the future of his career.                  



An Introduction to Kill Bill: Volume 1 (Tarantino, 2003)

            The film I have chosen to work on for my coursework in film studies is Kill Bill: Volume 1  (Tarantino, 2003).

             The film tells the story of 'The Bride' ( played by Uma Thurman) who is out to seek revenge on the 'Deadly Viper Assassination Squad' and their leader Bill (played by David Carradine). The film charts her exploits as she goes around the globe to assassinate the deadly vipers one by one, and slowly reveals the mysteries behind the character and her shady past with the man she is trying to kill. The film ends on a cliffhanger with many questions left unawnsered, only to be concluded with the following year's release of Kill Bill: Volume 2 ( Tarantino, 2004).

The Bride.

           Tarantino once again delivers an excellent peice of entertainment after the sucess of Reserviour Dogs (Tarantino,1992) and Pulp Fiction ( Tarantino,1994), featuring interesting and engaging characters and a plot with plenty of mystery and intrigue to keep you watching, not to mention some of the best sword fights ever put to film. The film (and its concluding part) has a unique 'comic-book' style featuring plenty of fantasical kung-fu sequences and gore, whilst grounding the film in enough realism to make the situations and decision the characters have to make have genuine consequences. The Kill Bill films are among some of my favourite films of all time for these reasons.



Matt.