Visual Communication: Film and Animation
OriginalBy looking at this text I can see a clear contrast between the outside world (dark, desaturated), and the inside of the Ark (bright, overly saturated). The camera movement is once again handheld, but there aren’t as many long takes as there were in the opening. Within the Ark, there are many vertical lines present over the windows, and there is a high tonal contrast. After looking closely at this text, I want to know what pieces of art are present and where they were originally kept (ie, where Nigel has managed to take them from), and why Nigel was able to stay in such a protected building, compared to other citizens who were out on the streets. Two Cops Kissing by Banksy is the first piece to be seen when Theo enters, which is usually displayed in Brighton (and was sold in 2014 to a collector in Miami), following this is David by Michelangelo (Madrid) and then Guernica by Picasso (Florence)- the pieces that Nigel was able to collect are from every part of the world and it once again emphasises that this infertility is a pandemic, and not just localised. The audience founds out that Nigel, Theo’s cousin, is a government official and is therefor provided a secure place in which to stay, compared to other civilians and immigrants that are outside on the streets. The function of this text is to make a statement about how the lower classes and immigrants suffer, whilst the people in positions of power get a ‘free pass’ and can live their lives as they please, not having to think of others. Nigel is a government official who is materialistic and devoted to protecting the arts and storing them, away from the lower classes and struggling citizens. Cuarón’s references to the Iraq war and refugee camps is made apparent within the film, especially in the opening of this scene, and the Ark of Arts is a stark contrast to this showing that even at the brink of extinction, capitalism plays a huge part in society. The use of visual storytelling plays a huge part in this too, as the ark is one of the first places that we see a massive amount of artificial light present, upping the saturation and brightness and providing a contrast to the otherwise dark and desaturated footage. The vertical lines around the windows of the arc concur up images of prison cells, exhibiting Nigel’s own entrapment by his sense of materialism and consumerist nature. The handheld camera is still present and the shot is never still, but the amount of camera movement decreases, and cuts increase within the ark (compared to the car ride Theo takes), reiterating him entering into a different world. The introduction of the Ark and Nigel is effective at accentuating the contemporary links and political/social statements that Children of Men makes, therefor I think it is a successful scene. From analysing the text I have gathered that the basic use of darkness and light can automatically create a different sense of mise-en-scène and atmosphere, especially when the change from one to another is drastic and are arranged next to each other. Re-EditedI wanted to focus on enhancing the contrast between the dark and the light in my re-edit, connoting the difference between people with power and people without. My original idea was to include quick cuts of the beginning in with the conversation between Theo and Nigel at the window, however I didn't like the effect as it broke up the rhythm. Instead, I experimented with overlapping the sound and visuals from the beginning, and moved them to the end- I also removed the scene where Theo drives to and enters the Ark of the Arts, as it gives Nigel a little less of a back story and makes him seem more of an antagonist. I took away the 'documentary' feeling in my re-edit, and was focusing on making it feel more like a stereotypical action film.
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Author21 year old third year Visual Communication: Film and Animation student @ BCU Archives
October 2018
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