60 Second Western

For our 60 second Western film, we decided to set it in a classroom and keep a semi comedic narrative. 

We focused mostly on getting the cinematography right as well as the common codes & conventions of the Western genre.

Our roles were as follows:

• Jamie & Robbie: Actors
• Jean-Luc: Cameraman & DOP
• Amber: Director & DOP

Watch our 60 second Western below :-) 

No Country For Old Men: Coin Toss Scenes

In No Country For Old Men, coin tosses are a central element and key feature of the whole film. The first time we see a coin toss and the last time we see one are both significant moments in the film.

The first scene including a coin toss is often considered one of the most famous scenes of the film.
In this scene, Chigurh is in a tiny petrol/gas station in the middle of nowhere when he comes across the shop keep and asks how much the nuts he is eating and the gas he wants will be. The initial conversation seems quite low key and calm, but then he shop keep comments on Chigurh travelling from Dallas and Chigurh immediately gets annoyed. The key turning point to show Chigurh's annoyance is when he calls the shop keep 'friendo' The conversation had began with the shop keep asking Chigurh questions, but as soon as Chigurh becomes irritated the tables turn and he is now asking questions or answers the shop keep with questions each time. This clearly makes the shop keep uncomfortable as he knows Chigurh is trying to intimidate him and make him nervous. This dialogue is a key element in creating the tension in the scene.
The framing of the scene and lighting is done strategically (to me). Throughout the shop keep seems framed by the window behind him which connotes a feeling of isolation. Also, in every shot of the shop keep, things that look very much like nooses can be seen behind him at all times, connoting a strong theme of death or even misery. The framing of Chigurh is pretty wide and general, however, Chigurh is the only one that we can see has an obvious way out of the situation (the door); the shop keep is kept behind the shop counter, keeping him from an easy escape if he needed one. The lighting at the beginning of the scene is very light and warm until we are brought into the shop; now, the lighting is a little dark and grey. To me, the lighting on Chigurh is the most significant; it appears two toned which could signify Chigurh's conflicting thoughts and feelings - he feels angry and irritated so wants to hurt the shop keep, but feels he must stick to his 'coin toss' philosophy.
Editing in the scene is low key but still apparent. The first piece of editing that becomes apparent is the constant cuts to shots over the character's shoulders when they engage in dialogue. The second piece of apparent editing is the very slow zooms when the tension reaches it peak (when the shop keep finally calls heads or tails). These slow zooms create a feeling of intimidation from the shop keep's perspective as it seems as if Chigurh is moving closer and closer.
The music in the scene is the smallest feature. The only piece of music in this scene is tiny and barely noticeable, but it's still there, perhaps to represent the building tension and fear in the scene. Also, the music reminds me of the sounds people can barely hear that (apparently) makes the human brain feel fear that editors of horror movies use.
Both actors' performance in this scene is fantastic and very convincing. Javier Bardem's performance throughout the whole film is amazing but also alarming that he can portray a psychopath so well, but I find this scene to differ to the majority of his performance; he creates a slight sense of humour in this scene but doesn't really seem to do anything differently in his acting, which to me is impressive. The old man's performance is also very impressive as he creates a convincing sense of fear and intimidation, and also relief at the end of the scene.

The second coin toss scene is just as significant in the film as the first scene.
In this scene, Carla Jean returns home from her mother's funeral alone and obviously upset. Carla Jean sees her dining room window open and immediately knows what's going to happen and who is here. She goes into what seems to be her mothers old bedroom and

sees Chigurh sitting in the shadows.
Their conversation is short and not very lengthy as Carla Jean knows that Chigurh wants to kill her, unlike the shop keep who was unsuspecting and didn't know anything. They speak a little bit about Moss and how Chigurh gave his word to him to kill Carla Jean if he doesn't sacrifice himself, but the main part of the dialogue in this scene is when Carla Jean refuses to call heads or tails and rejects Chigurh's philosophy; this guarantees Carla Jean's demise but ultimately rubs Chigurh the wrong way and forces him to make his own choice for once.
The lighting in the scene is pretty different to the first coin toss scene. Instead of being split by light and shadows, Chigurh is completely in the shadows this time, which suggests that his evil nature has taken him over completely. Lighting on Carla Jean remains warm and quite light, which to me represents her bravery and good intentions - it also helps contrast her completely to Chigurh. The framing of the scene shows that instead of Chigurh having the immediate escape of the door, Carla Jean now has this escape opportunity. However Carla Jean still accepts her 'fate' and doesn't run from Chigurh. The final frame of the scene shows Chigurh checking his boots, confirming that he has killed Carla Jean.
This scenes editing isn't even noticeable to me; there are no zooms and the only cuts that are there are just simple cuts to show each character. There is also no music in this scene, which suggests to me that Carla Jean doesn't feel fear from Chigurh and isn't very intimidated by him.
Again, Bardem's performance in this scene remains impressive and cohesive with the rest of his performance throughout the movie. Kelly Macdonald's performance dominates the scene to me and shows a real sense of personality and morals for her character; her performance depicts her honesty, loyalty, bravery and good intentions.

Some interesting things to note about both scenes is that they both feature common elements of traditional Western film. The first scene is pretty long and drawn out before we get to a conclusion/outcome, which is very similar to most Western films such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly which features an extremely long sequence that reaches an outcome of someone being shot. Although this contrasts to the short length of the second scene, the Western element in this scene is when Chigurh checks his boots.

In conclusion, both coin toss scenes are obviously significant scenes that effectively show the nature of all characters featured.

Cinematography Assignment

For this assignment, I chose to focus solely on experimenting with different sources of light and refraction/focus on those sources.

Although I would like to improve some things such as the stabilisation and quality of my shots, overall I thought they turned out okay.

Also, even though the rules were no editing and no dialogue, all I did was add some music and I did not edit any clips.

Watch my mini showreel below :-)

No Country For Old Men: Main Character Profiles

Sheriff Ed Bell
Sheriff Bell is an honest man of faith who values ethics, morality, and of course honesty. He values his presence in his community and feels proud of his position in society, meaning he also values the protection of his community.
Despite being a wise man with a good understanding of the world around him, being an 'old fashioned' man results in his failure to adapt and even accept the changing world around him - particularly the changing patterns and nature of crime.
Due to his seemingly caring nature, Sheriff Bell tries his hardest to protect Llewellyn Moss and Carla Jean Moss and put Anton Chigurh behind bars, but unfortunately fails to do so; this eventually makes him recognise his lack of power and control in the changing world he fails to understand.

 

Llewellyn Moss



Llewellyn Moss is a strong willed and self sufficient ex-Vietnam veteran with a very strong stubborn nature. Seemingly, due to his experiences in Vietnam, Llewellyn holds a different moral framework to most of the people around him, which contributes to his stubbornness; eventually, these morals and stubbornness lead to both his and Carla Jean's death since he refused Anton Chigurh's offer to spare Carla Jean in exchange for the money.

Despite rivaling Anton Chigurh, Llewellyn seems to reflect some of Chigurh's nature and habits; this could be to represent how it isn't important who is good and who is evil in this situation as they are basically as bad as each other. 

 

 

 

 

 

Anton Chigurh

Anton Chigurh is a remorseless, relentless hit man with a strong appreciation for principles. Despite being a ruthless man, Chigurh still holds certain principles and seems to be one of the only characters with no care for the money; for example, Chigurh explicitly tells Llewellyn that he has to keep his promise to kill him despite not caring about the money.

Chigurh also seems to consider himself an arbiter of fate who holds his victims to letting 'fate' choose between life and death through a simple call of heads or tails. Chigurh likes to preach his own philosophy before he holds his victims to this coin toss routine, proving his strong belief in choice, chance and fate. Also, although Chigurh seems to be above the law, he is still subject to choice, chance and fate - as proven by his car crash at the end.

Despite seeming psychotic and practically crazy, Chigurh remains a simple man who relies on simple weapons like a bolt gun.

Along with being ruthless, remorseless and psychotic, Chigurh is also mysterious, as he disappears from the narrative the same way he arrived - out of thin air. 

Chi-Raq & She's Gotta Have It VS Do The Right Thing

Do The Right Thing is a 1989 comedy-drama film which tells the story of a Brooklyn neighbourhood's simmering racial tension. Do The Right Thing is a perfect depiction of how strongly Spike Lee feels about race relations. Two other films that effectively depict Lee's feelings and opinions about this topic are Chi-Raq and She's Gotta Have It.

Chi-Raq is a 2015 satirical musical-drama film that tells the story of conflict between two gangs - the Spartans and the Trojans - in Chicago. The film is a take on the Greek comedy  play by Aristophanes, Lysistrata, which tells the story of Greek women who withhold sex from their partners as punishment for fighting in the Peloponnesian war. Chi-Raq stars Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Angela Bassett and John Cusack, as well as Wesley Snipes, who also starred in one of Lee's other films Jungle Fever, and Samuel L. Jackson, who also appeared in both Jungle Fever and Do The Right Thing. It is also interesting to note that Jackson played a narration role in Chi-Raq extremely similar to his narration role in Do The Right Thing.
The beginning of Chi-Raq is very similar to the beginning of Do The Right Thing - both feature a very long intro including songs relevant to the themes in the film. In Chi-Raq, the intro features the song 'Pray 4 My City' by cast member Nick Cannon, which talks about the death and violence that happens daily within Chicago. In Do The Right Thing, the intro features the song 'Fight The Power' by Public Enemy, a recurring song in the film, which talks about exactly what the title suggests: fighting the power.
Another main similarity between Chi-Raq and Do The Right Thing is the themes found throughout the films. For example, even thought Do The Right Thing focuses mostly on conflict between races and police brutality and Chi-Raq focuses mostly on gang violence, some feminist issues and some mentions of police brutality, specifically the Black Lives Matter movement, the main underlying themes of race relations link the two films together and highlight the most important issues. 
One difference linked to the themes in the films is how the themes are portrayed. For instance, in Do The Right Thing the themes of violence are portrayed literally; what I mean by 'literally' is the issues that Lee was trying to highlight are played out by the cast on camera instead of say, just talking about the issues. In Chi-Raq, the issues that Lee wanted to shed light on are not only 'literally' portrayed, but they are spoken about through statistics provided (like statistics of death rates in Iraq to compare to Chicago) and through monologues.
Another difference between the two films is that Chi-Raq is obviously a lot more modern than Do The Right Thing. As a result of this, technology and social media and it's influences on people's lives is a low-key theme throughout the film. For example, one gang member shoots a member of their rival gang over a certain text message; this event acts as a catalyst for a lot of the action to happen, including the main event that kick starts Lysistrata's urge to make a change to life in Chicago.
Cinematography in both films also count as a difference; in Chi-Raq, colour in the film is used as a form of story telling, as orange signifies the Trojan gang and purple signifies the Spartan gang. Colour and cinematography in 'Do The Right Thing' is still an important element of the film as cinematographer Ernest Dickerson stuck to a range of warmer colours to connote a heat wave, but it doesn't play as big a part in the narrative as colour does in Chi-Raq.
Interestingly, Chi-Raq's budget was a lot larger ($15 million) than Do The Right Thing's budget ($6 million), but Chi-Raq only earned around $2.7 million in the box office whereas Do The Right Thing managed to pull in profits of over 6 times their original budget in the box office. This could be due to the auterism in Do The Right Thing, which Spike Lee was most definitely the auteur for because it projects most of Lee's recognisable style. whereas Chi-Raq shows barely any of Lee's recognisable style of film.

She's Gotta Have It is a 1986 American comedy-drama written, edited and directed by Spike Lee that tells the story of Nola Darling, a sexually liberated young woman living in Brooklyn and juggling three different suitors. She's Gotta Have It is the film that launched Lee's career; as his first feature length film it received rave reviews from critics who called it

one of the best films of the year.

She's Gotta Have It and Do The Right Thing both share the same cinematographer, Ernest Dickerson. Although She's Gotta Have It is mostly shot in black-and-white (perhaps to represent how simplistically Nola views her 'relationships' with Greer, Jamie and Mars), apart from one scene shot in colour which makes obvious reference to The Wizard Of Oz, and Do The Right Thing is all shot in colour, Dickerson successfully projects Lee's auteristic style in both films despite having the restriction of black-and-white in one of the films.

Another similarity between She's Gotta Have It and Do The Right Thing is that they were both filmed entirely in single locations in Brooklyn, New York: She's Gotta Have It was shot in the Fort Greene neighbourhood of Brooklyn and Do The Right Thing was shot in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn. It is also intriguing to note that She's Gotta Have It was shot over twelve days in the summer of 1985 whereas Do The Right Thing was shot over eight weeks.

Themes in both films are pretty different. Do The Right Thing has dominant themes of racial tension and police brutality whereas She's Gotta Have It primarily feature strong themes of sexual liberation of women; the main point of the film that demonstrates Lee's opinion on sexual liberation is Nola's monologue at the end of the film, in which she states that monogamy is a form of slavery and that her sexual lifestyle is 'freedom in its purest form'. However, despite the different themes, She's Gotta Have It still has themes of race relations as Nola acts as a voice for the struggles that American women of colour faced in society at the time.

Controversies of the two films are also different. Audiences criticised Do The Right Thing by stating that it could incite black audiences to riot (Spike Lee responded to this by criticising white audiences for implying that black people can't control themselves not to riot). In She's Gotta Have It, the main controversy was the rape scene; Lee stated that he thoroughly regretted deciding to write this scene into the film: "If I was able to have any do-overs, that would be it. It was just totally... stupid. I was immature. It made light of rape, and that's the one thing I would take back". 

Overall, Do The Right Thing, Chi-Raq and She's Gotta Have It all have at least some sense of Spike Lee's auteristic style within them and are in my opinion, some of his best films to watch when/if you are new to his films.

Here are the trailers for each movie:

Do The Right Thing

Chi-Raq

She's Gotta Have It