George Lancaster

Mr. Hill

5/18/15

Analysis of Editing Choices

        The scene that I am analyzing is from the 2008 film The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan. This film stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Heath Ledger as The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. This is the second film in Nolan’s Batman Trilogy and is about Batman’s fight against the Joker and the transformation from Harvey Dent to Two-Face and that subsequent battle. The individual scene that I will analyze is the final scene of the film where Batman saves Gordon and his son from Dent/Two-Face and the immediate aftermath where he takes the blame for the murders Dent committed so that he remains a symbol of hope for the city.

        One amazing element of the scene is its attention to visual design. One amazing element all throughout the movie is its attention to costume and makeup. This scene in particular, we see the amazing use of costumes. Batman's outfit is all black with a billowing cape to give him a menacing presence as the Caped Crusader. Two-Face on the other hand has a suit that on one half is clean and normal but the other half is charred and destroyed which shows the audience there are two sides to any person the moral upstanding Harvey Dent and the evil Two-Face. Another amazing aspect of visual design is the use of lighting. All throughout the movie the viewer sees very dark shots of Batman giving a dark mood. But as Batman drives away on his motorcycle we see a glimpse of brightness surrounding him almost giving him a halo effect to show the good in him.

        Another amazing thing this film has done is its great use of cinematography. In this scene the camera does many panning shots which gives the scene more excitement then if the camera had stayed still engaging the audience. Another thing that they did was the use of special effects. All throughout the film there were amazing special effects but the one that I want to focus on is the special effects used to create Harvey Dent they're excellent use of motion camera devices transformed a normal human face into the burned horrifying face that the audience sees in the film.

        This film is renowned for its editing and there's a very good reason for that. At the Academy Awards the film won the award for best sound editing and was also nominated for best film editing. One amazing element of editing in this scene is it uses music. The music really adds to Gordon's speech as Batman flees which really builds the emotional impact of the monologue. In the scene part word end is going to kill Gordon's son we see the camera linger which builds tension in the audience when there are long takes. It puts a tension in the air and chills the viewer.

        With all of these amazing elements it's no wonder why this film is so highly regarded. It’s no surprise that it won “Best Sound Editing” and was also nominated for “Best Art Direction,” “Best Cinematography,” “Best Sound Mixing,” “Best Visual Effects,” “Best Makeup,” and “Best Film Editing.” The only surprise is why it didn't win more of those words awards.

George Lancaster
1st Hour
3/31/15
Mr. Hill

Visual Design Analysis

     The 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson, is a fantasy piece set in the fantastic world of Middle Earth created by J.R.R Tolkien. This movie is the sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and continues the quest of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a hobbit from the Shire, on his quest to destroy the One Ring and vanquish Sauron, as well the stories of his many friends as they fight to free Middle Earth from evil. The scene that I am going to analyze is where the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) frees King Theoden (Bernard Hill) from the evil wizard Saruman's (Christopher Lee) deadly mind control. This scene utilizes many interesting visual design aspects to create an amazing scene. The goal of the director's choice in the scene is to show the new found power and magic of Gandalf the White, as well as show the healing and reverse aging of King Theoden.

     One aspect of the scene that really made it awesome was its use of high key lighting when Gandalf threw off his grey robe to go from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White. When Saruman watched through Theoden's eyes as Gandalf approached him he was not concerned with the magical ability of Gandalf the Grey, an old wizard whose powers could not match his. But when Gandalf revealed he was no longer the "the Grey" Gandalf's power was too much to handle in his new more powerful form. The director emphasized this by using high key lighting as he threw off the robe to make him appear almost godlike in power and as a pure force for good. This clearly communicated to the audience that our dear old wizard has elevated power and is  more powerful than Saruman now.

     Another element that makes this scene amazing is its use of makeup and costuming to show the reverse aging of the King after Gandalf frees him from Saruman. The effects of Saruman's mind poisoning caused Theoden to grow sick and old, but after he was freed by Gandalf he aged in reverse back to where he should be. It was really amazing how they were able to take this actor and cause him to look 50 years younger in a matter of seconds by using: contacts that made his eyes milky and dull, face makeup to make him sickly frail and tired, and that his hair went from long and grey to clean cut blond. It was an amazing sequence and really looked genuine and authentic to any member of the audience.

     Jackson's attention to the little details in the setting also made this sequence outstanding and made the scene feel authentic. This scene takes place in The Golden Hall of Rohan, which serves as the place of the King. We see the customs, moral attitudes, and codes of behavior of the people of Rohan by their armor and decorations, all the flags along the walls show horses running and the helmets of the soldiers have horses crowning them with horsehair running down the back indicating that these are a people who put great emphasize on horses and show great deals of respect for warriors who master the art of riding and fighting. We also see the social structures and economic factors of the scene when we look at the dress of the court of Theoden, we see that everyone there is dressed modestly and the most expensive looking wear is seen in the armor of the warriors, which reinforces their warrior way of life by showing that they value their fighters more than statesmen and advisers.

     The way Jackson crafted this scene really helped create an authentic scene where we could see and wittness the magical powers as if they were real. The subtle use of visuals really gave the audience the effect that the magic of Gandalf was a real force (in that world of course) and was not just some cheesy special effect.

Eulogy of Brooks Hatlen

George Lancaster

11/16/14

Film as Literature

Mr. Hill

Eulogy of Brooks Hatlen

To the rest of the world Brooks may be some con, but to all of us here in Shawshank we know Brooks as a kind man, a caring man, an important man. Inside of these walls we are all a big family, we look out for each other, but once Brooks was on the outside he was alone.

Even though Brooks may have had an altercation with Heywood around the stressful time of his parole, he always showed unwavering kindness and friendship to all of us. He even apologized from the outside about that knife incident. Any of us would have done the same thing if we had been here as long as he has too. Brooks Hatlen was a good man for a con. If only the world that he went into knew what a kind man he was too. But the outside as no use for a con this day in age, and Brooks knew that all too well.

We saw the caring side of Brooks when he took in Jake after he found him outside of the prison’s license plate shop he showed how even a hardened con can care for an innocent bird. You could never find the two of them apart, they were as inseparable as a pair of Siamese twins. While we may not have fully understood the relationship between Brooks and Jake we all knew how special it was. Their bond was more than that of a pet and their owner, it was so much more than that, and as much as Brooks cares for Jake, Jake took care of Brooks. Those two needed each other to survive in this world.

Inside the walls of Shawshank Brooks was an important man. We all knew our good friend Brooks as the prison librarian, he never failed to bring his cart around every night to make sure all of us could have something to read. No one else could do the job that Brooks had done which is why I, Andy Dufresne, believe that all of us here in Shawshank should memorialize our dear friend Brooks by building a library in his honor. It would make him smile to see us have the opportunity to read and better educate ourselves while we are stuck in here.

When it came time for Brooks to leave our family when his parole went through, we were all sad to see our dear friend go. I guess it seems that some people are not meant to leave the walls of Shawshank. Brooks was one of those people. Throughout his time here at Shawshank prison he has seen six wardens come and go and over time it seems like these familiar walls felt like home to him. The world has changed so much since he arrived it seemed to have just swallowed him whole. Well even though the outside world may forget the memory of Brooks Hatlen, his memory will live on in all of our hearts.

2181 Chestnut Cres
Saline, MI, 48176

September 20, 2014

Steven Spielberg

Universal City, CA, 91608

Dear Mr. Spielberg:

My name is George Lancaster, I am a huge fan of your work and am writing to you today about your film "Schindler's List." This film spoke to me on a deep level and I would like to thank you for this masterpiece you created. Many movies that are made can be considered "good," but there are few movies that are truly great films to be worthy of praise.

One reason this film is so wonderful is for its significance to American history. Many films have touched on the topic of the Holocaust, but few are able truly tell of the atrocities committed in that period of history. While the film may tell the tale of Oskar Schindler it never forgets to show the horrors of the Holocaust. I would also like to praise you for shooting the film in black and white. This style of shooting makes the film seem timeless, like it can not be buried by the sands of time. The story of  "Schindler's List" never shys away from the brutality committed by the Nazis and explains the Holocaust for what it was and in doing so makes it an important historical film worthy of preservation for all of time.

I would also like to praise you for the way this film develops Oskar Schindler. One reason the development of this character is so powerful is because the film portrays him at the beginning and end of the war. At the beginning Schindler was an opportunist willing to use Jewish slave labor in order to make a profit from their suffering, but throughout the film the viewer gets to witness Schindler's change of heart. At the conclusion of the film we see that Schindler is no longer concerned with the gain of wealth, but rather he wants to preserve human lives. To be able to push aside human greed in order to do something noble is truly a brave and wonderful thing. This development of Schindler is shown in a clear way that really makes the viewer understand the ideas going through Schindler's head making the film a beautiful thing to watch.

And finally I would like to praise you for your recurring use of music. John Williams is an amazing composer and I would like to thank you for using his talent to aid this film. The recurring use of the musical theme of this movie throughout its most emotional scenes is truly a beautiful thing. The solo violin played in this theme is truly able to capture the essence of the film through music. Also, while it is not a recurring song I would like to thank you for the use of the children's choir in the "Krakow Liquidation" scene, the use of children in this song really brought attention to the children who were murdered that day.

I can go on and on with praise for this magnificent film. Thank you so much for your time Mr. Spielberg and I wish you the best of luck as you continue your career.

Best Wishes,

George David Lancaster