Notes on Cutting it

• Cutting was a popular television programme, the genre was drama.
• It was set in Manchester England.
• ‘Cutting it’ followed the traumatic life of hairdresser Allie Henshall, alongside her lovers,her rivals and her dysfunctional family.
• It was called cutting it because the main character is a hairdresser.
• It was directed by John Alexander.
• The tagline of the series was ‘Hairdressers at war in work and love’.
• The programme ran for four series between the years 2002 and 2005.
• One of the main plots is that they are two rival hairdressers and the thing is they are not just in competition for customers ….

Notes on the departed and Vacancy

Notes on the departed and Vacancy

Vacancy
Music: When the titles are up at the beginning the music is frantic to show that this movie is possibly going to be quite intense. When the movie starts the music is a bit calm and very quiet this is to show that they are alone, it really emphasises that they are alone in the dark, just the two of them, but the big question is are they really alone of is someone watching them? While they were in the dark we could hear digetic sounds, and all we could hear was the car creatures of the nights like owls to really hit home the fact that they are alone.

Setting: We can tell that the car is from California which would suggest that the car is from California or they are in California. It is night and there are no cars or buildings anywhere all that we can see is a single car, this makes us jump to the conclusion that they are alone. Eventually they come to a small gas station, which appears to be in the middle of nowhere, which asks the question why is it there?

Characters: The two characters that we first see are a man and a woman together in the car. Whenever they talk they end up arguing about something that is very petty. This led me to the conclusion that they are or were possibly married. At this point in time though they are not getting on, and are possibly only together in the car because they have to be. The lost character that we see is a weird guy that makes the other to characters jump by coming up to there car.

Narrative: They are two people all alone, in the dark, and are lost; they come to a small gas station and meet this weird gas station manager….

The Departed
Music: The music for the first scene is the rolling stones, to show that this main character is funky and in control of what he is doing, I think it is also to show that this man is confident and sure of himself. Also there is a voice over of the main protagonist, he has a classic American gangsters voice.

Setting: The setting is the city, we can see fights corruption law breaking, this is to show that this movie is set in a rough city and will be quite intense.

Characters: The first character we see is supposedly the main protagonist, he is confident. He has men that he controls. When he speaks to people they listen and do not argue back, this is a show of respect to him, this shows he is an important person and people are almost forced to listen to him. The other character we see is a young kid, he is nervous but the main protagonist looks after him and buys him stuff, which suggest this kid to be important to him, and then we are taken forward in time to see the kid grows up to be in a police force, which is interesting because the person that looked after him and bought him stuff was a gangster, maybe he is there because the main protaginst wants him there for one of his plans for crime…

Narrative: A young kid is taken under the wing of a crime lord and ends up in the police force probably to help the main protagonist do some sort of crime.

Notes on lecture

Notes on lecture before summers town.

British films are normally very low budget, they are not normally big blockbuster, normally filmed on a lower budget than American films, and most importantly British films always try to capture the average person, they do this to try and connect the character to the audience, this is relating the audience to the film by putting the main character in situations an average person could find themselves in everyday. You will hardly see a British film that is about a out of this world heroic character, who has to save this world on his own.

Summers town was filmed by Euro star, which is the train that goes from England to France, this was probably good publicity for them because Euro star managed to put across there product a couple of times in the film. British films are normally low budget affairs compared to there American counterparts. This is probably a reason behind why British films are not well renowned for there amazing special effects when it comes to blowing things up.

somers Twon questions

Somers town questions

Question 4 How would you categories this film in terms of genre? Does it remind you of any other films you have seen?
For categorising it there is one genre that it defiantly has characteristics of I would think that this genre is comedy. Also there is a touch of drama, an example of this is the beginning of the film where the characters the two main characters are alone with no friends in new place, also the face that Tomo gets mugged early on in the film adds to the drama effect, so I would categorise this as Comedy/Drama.
As for films it reminds, no film in particular springs to mind but it reminds me of films, where the two main characters are enemies then turn into great friends. Kind of buddy movie, but still a drama.
Question 5 What do you think is the films appeal for audiences?
The appeal would be to show audiences what it is like for young people moving to London and starting a fresh, because that can’t be easy, it is also kind of a feel good movie, by this I mean towards the end it becomes a lot about how everyone gets closer together. Also the comedy appeal although this film is not a comedy it certainly has some Comedy like parts in the film. The appeal of Summers town being shot in black and white, would also have an appeal to certain audiences as it would remind them of the classic films that were filmed in black and white.
Question 6 As well as being in black and white, the film is subtitled during the conversations in Polish between Marek and his father; there are also sections in French. In what ways do these factors affect your response to the film; the situation and characters?
Personally I prefer film in black and white, like if Marek and his father spoke perfect English with a cockney accent it would make it seem less realistic, furthermore I am glad they decided to use that instead of dubbing, personally I believe dubbing is the worst thing ever to be included in films, well that is what I think. When directors use Poles speaking Polish or the French speaking French etc , I think it is a nice personal touch to get the character speaking there native tongue as it lets the viewer see how the other nationalities speak and help us relate to the characters more.




Question 8 To what extent do you think the audience is expected to be ‘comfotable’ with this portrait of two teenagers?
I am sure not everyone would be particularly comfortable with one certain scene with Tomo seeing to his personal needs, although i am sure many people found this shocking image funny. Teenagers these days tend to drink so personally I would think that the scene with them drinking would not make anyone particularly uncomfortable. More importantly the fact that Tomo is on young and is on the streets might cause some shock to teenagers watching this film, and shows them that what they have at home could be taken for granted.
Question 9 A sign on the estate reads ‘children playing on these grounds is prohibited’. IN what different ways do Tomo and Marek seek to amuse themselves within this environment? Do you think the film encourages us to judge any of their actions
Most of the time they are looking of ways to impress the French waitress, for example when they find the wheelchair, then use the wheelchair so they can become almost a taxi service for her. The audience could judge Tomo on his actions very early on in the film, possibly pointing him out as a bit of a loveable rouge and a trouble maker early on in the film Tomo is a trouble maker, he is forgiven because there is not many things to do where they are, especially on the estate.
Question 10 What message of childhood adolescence do you, or could you, take away from the film?
One thing that i took away from the film is that friendship can be important especially in big cities such as London, as when Tomo was on his own he got mugged straight away because he was on his own with no one else to protect him. Also the importance of having fun in your adolescence is highlighted in the film.
Question 11 Do your reactions towards the boys change at different pionts in the film? Which moments in particular?a) Encourage you to sympathise with the boys:
I think because both boys are new to London and are young encourages the audience to sympathise with them all the way through the film. We feel sorry for them being all alone in an intimidating city such as London.
b) Make you unsympathetic towards them:
When they steal cloths and it turns out to be woman’s clothing, i believe that it serves Tomo right as he stole the cloths and then has to wear them because he can’t wear his old set of cloths thus making him look very silly.
Question 12 Some of the other characters include marek’s father, Mariusz, Graham the cockney neighbour, and a French waitress, maria. To what extent would you agree that Meadows is playing with stereotypes in his representation of these characters?
Well with Graham, the stereotype is cockney, he loves football (especially Arsenal) is quite cheeky, has a friendly way of how he deals with things, like business, and is always looking for a get rich quick scheme. Maria is what British people like to think of French woman, she is very pretty very friendly and at the beginning of the film she is mysterious to the audience. Mariusz, is a typical Polish person in Britain: he is very good at his job, enthusiastic and his employers greatly respect him, he tries hard at his job which is why he was able to move to England. He is also big and strong which used to be the typical stereotype of someone from Eastern Europe.