Month: November 2017

Visual Review – Portrait Gallery

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For my final visual review, I decided to look at “Skating in Central Park” by Agnes Tait. This was painted in 1934 as part of the Public Works of Art Project in New York. I love how realistic the painting is and how it shows this happy image of all these people skating and hanging out together, even though it is the Great Depression. This was obviously a very challenging time in American history, as many people lost their jobs and homes, but this image shows a different version of this era.

If one were to view this image as if it was a photograph, it would be considered a wide shot at a slightly high angle. Clearly, the painter was standing on a hill and painted as if she was looking straight forward, with a slight downward angle. There is a low depth of focus in the background since the buildings are blurred together and are not very defined. In general, most of these people are not very defined in the painting either. Even the plants and bare trees are not sharply defined. It makes all the pieces of the image blur together to guide the viewer through the picture, instead of just stopping to look at one part of it.

The flow of the image allows the viewer’s eye to start on the left side of the painting at the tall tree in the foreground. The eyes travel with the snow bank to the bottom of the image – since it gives the perception that this is the closest part of the image to us. The eye follows the snow bank to the right side of the image and across the bridge. The bridge creates a line back towards the middle of the picture that guides the eyes in that direction. Once the bridge ends, the eye travels with the group of skaters in their colorful coats. This, along with the rocks lining the frozen lake, continues to draw the eye back to the left side of the image. The eye then moves upward with the people who are walking up the hill. It continues to follow the dark trees in the background of the picture until we hit the right edge. Finally, the eye moves up and across the back of the image, following the line of the skyscrapers and sky in the background.

The red colors on some of the coats help stand against the white and blue background. This is really the only color that stands out in the painting. Most of the other coats are blue, green or brown and blend in with the cooler tones of the painting. The sky also has cooler tones that hint that it may be late afternoon and the sun is about to begin to set.

While the image still has a shallow field of depth, the viewer can see people in the far background. Some are sledding down a hill on the right side of the image. Others, on the other hand, are talking to one another and walking around.

Pulp Fiction – Movie Poster

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14 Pulp Fiction.jpgThe 1994 movie, Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino, is a thriller that follows multiple different storylines that end up crossing paths. The story is focused around violence and drugs. It stars many famous actors and actresses, including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman.

The movie poster for Pulp Fiction is one of the most iconic posters of all time. This poster was designed to reflect the title of the movie – as it was made to look like a piece of pulp fiction. Pulp fiction was a term coined in the early 1900s to reflect fiction books that were produced in mass quantities at low prices, since they were printed on cheap paper. These books were usually only 10 cents. These books were often creative short stories that could cater to the lower classes, since they were so cheap.

The movie poster shows this by having creased edges, folded corners, and even havingthe price marked at ten cents. The poster looks like it is the cover of a cheap book. It looks as if it has been read and worn down.

The top of the poster is bright red, which draws the eyes towards the title. The title is in bright yellow, which is contrasted against the red. The rest of the poster has a darker tone. Uma Thurman, who is one of the main cast members, is the only person on the poster. She is seen laying on a bed, smoking a cigarette, and has a gun in front of her. Her eyes are staring straight at the viewer, drawing them in with her gaze. Her lips also stand out since she is wearing red lipstick, which contrasts her black hair and all black clothes.

The cast has their names listed in yellow on the left side of the poster. The bright yellow helps to draw attention to them and the color and font matches the title, helping it be consistent.

The dark tones of the poster and the darker items on the bed, like the gun and cigarettes, help to set the tone of the movie. The movie is very dark and violent, and this helps to give it that appeal. Even the closed blinds in the back and the tilted lampshade in the back left corner helps to create the darker tone of the movie.

Overall, the poster does a great job reflecting what the movie is about. It uses dark tones and items associated with violence and darker images to establish the setting of the movie. Thurman’s gaze also helps to bring the viewer in and have them really look at the poster. The consistent font and coloring also help make the title and cast stand out. The cast list also frames Thurman, which helps bring attention to her as well. Finally, using the visual metaphor of a pulp fiction book to illustrate the poster of the movie ties in with the name of the movie. The illusion of a worn book cover helps to bring everything together.

The Godfather Visual Review

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The Godfather is arguably one of the greatest films of all time. It was released in 1972 and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie follows an Italian-American Crime family, and the cycle of betrayal and violence in the mafia. The film has many big actors including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Diane Keaton.

The film opens with a man asking for the help of Don Vito Corleone, the head of the family. With an over the shoulder shot, and Corleone cast behind a shadow, it draws and eerie, but powerful image of the man – even without being able to see his face.

We later find out that his daughter’s wedding is happening as they are having the discussion. At the wedding we see many wide shots at eye level, creating the idea that we are with the large Corleone family and are apart of the wedding.

Just outside of the wedding we see the police writing down the license plate numbers of all of the attendees.

A common theme throughout the movie is showing the back of Don Corleone’s head while he is in his office, speaking with other guests. This consistency continues to show that Corleone is a powerful man and not to be messed with.

The movie moves to Los Angeles, where they are trying to make Johnny get a part in the movie. Throughout these scenes, the camera does not move. Rather, it is stationary and is just at various different angles. It does not travel with the characters.

After the studio head refuses to cast Johnny, the camera travels with the mafia member as he stands up and says his farewells. The scene cuts to someone asleep in their bed and the camera dollys in towards the bed. From a high angle and a close up shot, the camera pans left down the bed after the studio head wakes up covered in blood. He lifts up the covers to find the head of his beloved horse.

After meeting with the drug dealer, the family sends out Luca to spy on the other families. The camera follows Luca in a close up at eye level in to a bar. In an extremely close up shot, Luca’s cigarette is lit, but he is then stabbed with the knife and chocked. Following his death, there is another close up shot of the knife in his hand.

In the following scene, there is a wide shot from a high angle of Vito buying fruit from a stand while his son Fredo waits in the car. There is a close up shot of two men pulling out their guns and then a high angle shot of their feet while they are running. In another high angle shot of the street, the men shoot down Vito and he collapses to the ground – presumably dead.

Michael is scene walking out of the theater in a medium shot at eye level with his girlfriend Kay. They are walking down the street when she sees a newspaper that publishes the possible murder of his father.

In a close up shot, Sollozzo has Hagen kidnapped and is seen talking to him. At a low angle, the camera shows Hagen sitting and looking up at his kidnapper, and hears about the assassination of his boss.

Michael is later seen in a medium eye level shot sitting on a bench. The rule of threes is applied here as his eyes hit the upper part of the lines and the bench is at the lower line. He then moves inside after receiving a phone call. Someone is cooking and the camera pans left and right to capture the scene. The camera is still at eye level to get the affect that the viewer is inside the kitchen with the Corleone family.

Following the incident at the hospital, the scene changes to the Corleone family house and from a high angle we see the gate being guarded and cars coming in and out. With Sonny in charge, he sends out men to kill those who have been threatening his family. The camera pans left as follows him as he shows his excitement. The camera continues to pan right as it follows him and Hagen arguing about what to do. Michael realizes that he must kill the Sollozzo and his bodyguard. The camera dollys in toward Michael and he comes up with a plan on how to kill them both. He decides that the best way to do it is in a public space with a handgun planted somewhere he can easily access it without it being on him in case he gets searched. This dolly in is a key turning point as Michael is now okay with becoming one of the members of the family who actually kills someone.

Further along in the movie, Sonny is driving and stops at a tollbooth. In a wide shot, the camera pans along to show the car pulling up to the booth. The camera stops panning at the car approaches the stop. The camera does a close up shot of Sonny as he pays for the toll and in the background you see the man working conveniently drop his change and shut the window. The camera turns to see men with machine guns ready to gun down Sonny. He is shot multiple times and the camera does a wide angle to see the damage of the car. The camera does a high angle of a Sonny on the ground, shot to death.

At the baby’s christening, the camera switches between different scenes. At first, there is a wide shot of the chapel, and then the camera switches to a high angle and showing the baby being baptized. It then goes between different men as they are doing every day activities. One is a medium shot of someone packing a suitcase, another is a high angle close up of a man at the barber. The scene then shows other men grabbing guns getting ready to gun down people. Throughout the christening, Corleone’s men are killing those who betrayed the family.