Keynote Questions 12/8/09

Film Techniques

1.What film techniques did Alfred Hitchcock use in Rear Window?

panning shot of the neighborhood

1. What film techniques does Orson Welles use in Touch of Evil?

Zoom-in

1. If there’s a scene that a character is listening to the radio, what kind of sound is that?

Digetic.

Film Timeline

1. Contribution of the French to Cinema

The Lumiere brothers and Melies were the first film makers.

1. What was the contribution of the Germans to cinema?

German Expressionism- Metropolis, The Triumph of Will, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

1. What happened in the 1950s in cinema?

New film techniques- widescreen, 3D, etc.

1. How are the official and outlaw hero used in Casablanca and Angels With Dirty Faces?

In Casablanca, Laslow is the official hero and Rick is the outlaw hero.

In Angels With Dirty Faces, Rocky is the outlaw hero that everyone looks up to, and that the official hero, Father Connely, wants everyone to stop admiring.

Gangster Movies

Why do you think Americans like Gangster movies so much? Does the popularity of these movies say anything about who we are as people? Does it say anything about our culture? What are some of your favorite...

I think people like to know about the mysterious life of Gangsters. They want to imagine what the gangster life is like, and what the gangsters do. Also, the people of this country love violence, and the gangsters satisfy the craving.

I loved American Gangster with Denzel Washington.

Pulip Fiction with Uma Thurman, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson.

Overhead Lessons (paragraph parallels)

Paragraph 1
The aspect they focus on is the way the mother and father work.
The two paragraphs are parallel in the way they describe the way the parents work. The writer also describes which tools each parent uses, and how each parent organizes the tools they use.

Paragraph 2
The aspect the writer focuses on in this paragraph is the relationship he or she has with his or her parents.
The mother and child have a very comfortable relationship. They can tell dirty jokes to one another, and still be able to carry a conversation after a comfortable pause.
The father and the child have a very uncomfortable relationship. They can not carry a conversation at all in their car ride.


Paragraph 3
1. Both stories start with the character getting out of bed, and eating breakfast. In both scenarios, the protagonist has something to do that day.

Saturday- “wake up brimmed with energy,” “golden liquid (sun),” “eagerly,” “delightful,” “beautiful day.”
Sunday- “bloodshot eyes,” “terrible glare (sun),” “claw my way out of bed,” “limp state of semi-consciousness,” “stumble,” “fumble,” “sloppily,” “hung over.”

Integrated Paragraph (overhead questions)

Integrated
to come together; segregation to integration; integrated curriculum?

assimilated, fused, mesh, mix, desegregate

How is this paragraph different from the ones that use parallel sequence?
This paragraph is an integrated paragraph. It encompasses information on two different subjects in one paragraph.

Why do you suppose the writer chose not to use parallel sequence?
The writer may have had limited information on the Albatross.
The writer may have also wished to highlight the differences and similarities of the two species of Sooty Albatross.

3. Although, but, however, again, both, whereas,


parallel sequencing- splitting two subjects into two different paragraphs.

Integrated Comparison of Metropolis, Modern Times

Metropolis and Modern Times had qualities that were both similar and unique. Both films were silent films that criticized the treatment of the working class and the systematic approach to factory-style working. However, the films were also very different in how they portrayed the problem. Metropolis was very dramatic and focused on heavy themes without very much comedic relief. On the other hand, Modern Times made fun of everything that the workers had to do through physical comedy and silly happenings. Although both films were exhibitions of the plight of the working class, they couldn't be more different in their approach of showing it.

Comedy

What is your favorite Comedy movie? What kind of comedy do you like? Do you like physical comedies like Ace Ventura or The Mask? Do you like British comdeies? Do you like comedies with stunts? Do you like teen comedies? What is funny to you?

My favorite comedy movie is Mean Girls. It's a perfect satire of high school life that is brilliantly written. I love the actors and how convincingly they played high school students.

My other favorite comedy is more recent; I absolutely loved The Hangover. It was SO hilarious. I had given up on comedy a bit, since everything seemed to be the same (thanks, Judd Apatow), but this one was very refreshing, and I left the theater with sore abs from the never-ending laughter.

The type of comedy I like involves wit. There is nothing better than understanding a joke that makes you feel like intelligent. For example, to understand half of the jokes on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, you have to be well read in current events, or at least stay up to date with the news. Comedy is ten times better when it involves some type of thinking.

I appreciate physical comedy, but I don't think that's the best type of comedy out there. What I really appreciate about it is the time it takes to do the work; it takes hours of rehearsal to convey who the character is. I think people who can perform physically are very talented, but I believe that comedy needs a nice balance of good writing and physicality. Or else it just turns into a dumb joke that anyone can understand.

British comedy is a little too advanced for me. It's hard to understand sometimes, and some British comedians (such as Russel Brand) are a little vulgar and make me uncomfortable at times. I can handle those types of jokes, but RB at the VMAs was a little too much, especially for the young audience that watches. I do love Monty Python/ Holy Grail, though!

Stunt comedy is dumb, plain and simple. It just makes life dangerous for normal people. When people get bored, they copy what they see on TV or in movies; I don't think more Jackasses are what our society needs.

Teen comedy is great. Mean Girls, as I said before, is my favorite. I also like Superbad, Juno, and Accepted. Those were very witty and dumb at the same time, while being funny and entertaining.

Some of the best comedy can be found on television.

Some shows that I find funny are: Saturday Night Live, Chelsea Lately (celebrity humor), The Soup with Joel McHale (TV humor), The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Big Bang Theory (one of the best sitcoms of our time), Glee (new show on Fox), Two and a Half Men, House (Dr. House has great lines), Scrubs (inner monologue), Friends (Joey and Phoebe), and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (the BEST late night show).