Celine's Film Blog

  HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYSTEM The Hollywood studio system was at its most powerful around the 1920s and 30s during the Golden age.  THE MAJOR BIG 5 STUDIOS:   MGM Paramount Warner Brothers RKO Fox The studio system benefitted from any studios involved, greatly increasing profits. This was as a result of the studio system having control over the film production overall. In some cases, one studio would control all the theatres in one city. This ensured that their films would be distributed, no matter the quality. By 1945, studios owned either partially or outright 17% of the theatres in America. Moreover, they also had control over the movie-making process. They usually had the actors, producers, directors and writers under contract, owned the film processing and laboratories as well as created the prints. Further, the studios were infamous for 'owning' their stars, known as 'The Star System'. The factory method was a success in film production because it ensured that films w

 CLASSICAL STYLE FILM FORM KEY RULES AND CONVENTIONS - REFERENCE: CASABLANCA 1942 CINEMATOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING The searchlight illuminates at random times and used in key moments of the film The 180 - degree rule, which is by keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always frame right of the second character. The noir lighting conveys the mood of war Rick showed in half-light representing his split personality Ilsa was shot mostly from the left side with the use of a gauze filter and very soft lighting in which made her eyes illuminate to convey innocence and despair EDITING The film conforms to the rules of classical Hollywood style in editing.  In the classical period, the type of editing that was preferred was continuity editing The editing is seamless and transparent throughout to make the cuts invisible. The use of the montage at the beginning is typical in classical Hollywood films The time and space are unified and linear

 PORTALS NARRATIVE ANALYSIS Portal: No Escape is a short fan film about the Portal video game series directed by Dan Trachtenberg. The film presents a story of a woman who wakes up in a room that seems like a prison perplexed, then we are shown montages of her growing stronger and stronger, to the point where she attempts to escape through the use of a portal. Her attempting escape gets the audience hopeful, with a sense of reassurance that she would accomplish it. However, we are presented with a twist at the end, where we discover that she is still being kept captive, under control, and that it all ended up being an illusion through a simulation.  Within the short film, the narrative subverts from typical conventions within the action genre. This is due to the fact that the woman portrays herself as a dominant character due to her pure strength and how she shows superiority over the guards. Consequently, the location shown in the majority of the film is in a room that resembles a pri

  HIGH MAINTENANCE PLOT TWISTS  In the Science fiction film "High Maintenance" we are presented with two main plot twists. Firstly, the film begins with a woman and her supposed husband who are having a casual dinner. Further, later on in the scene, we are shown with the first plot twist in which reveals that the 'husband' is a robot shown through the way the woman reaches around his neck and switches him off completely. Subsequently, we are then introduced with the second significant plot twist in which reveals that all along, the wife was a robot herself. These two plot twists are noteworthy in the film supported with clues and factors implanted throughout the film. To begin with, through the first plot twist, the audience is shown numerous red herrings through the symbolism of food, alcohol, and clothing. The use of alcohol infers that the characters may be distressed and discontent, which are human characteristics used to make the audience believe that they're

CASABLANCA OPENING SCENE   The film ‘Casablanca’ was directed by Micheal Curtiz and produced by Hal. B Wallis. The film is revealed to be a contemporary romance and drama film that stands out against other films produced during this time. The scene that the audience is being presented at the beginning is the interior and exterior of Rick’s Cafe, as it essentially represents what Casablanca is all about. In the opening scene, we are presented with Rick’s Cafe being lively and illuminated. There is an expressive shadow created behind the suited man in white, emphasizing the mystery and shadiness of this man, possibly to portray Casablanca as a whole. Furthermore, there is a spotlight which pans above rick’s cafe, suggesting that there may be someone always on the run or guilty of something, as well as presenting ideas about the cafe and the people in it.  Later on, the camera begins to move into Cafe, with the scene being at eye level respective to the characters giving the audience a fi