Oral Presentation Checklist

1. Choose a film from the list provided by the teacher.
2. Watch the selected movie two or three times.
3. Choose a five minutes extract that represents a critical moment in the movie, not only regarding the plot, but also regarding the technical aspects of the film.
4. Watch the selected extract a couple of times and each time annotate on a different aspect of the extract.
5. Write the textual analysis of the extract, including information regarding the sociocultural context of the  movie as well as all the annotations from the extract.
6. Read the analysis out loud and time it to see if it lasts 10 minutes.
7. If it doesn´t, arrange the analysis until it lasts ten minutes.
8. Study the analysis by hard, and continue timmming to get the exact time correct.
9. Write brief notes, as aides- memorie, that can be used the day of the presentation.

Independent Study

1.     Choose the topic you want to research about.
2.     Watch movies related to the subject.
3.     Select two Films, and analyse them in full detail.
4.          Investigate about the chosen film, and the theme chosen.
5.     Plan the documentary, making sure you have all the materials needed.
6.     Write the first draft of the documentary script.
7.      Give the draft for the teacher to correct it.
8.          Re write the documentary script and finish the final version of it.
9.           Write the rationale.
10.     Once you finished, collect all your sources together, making the list. 

To what extent is Memento a Film Noir?

Movie synopsis

It was a horrible murder, no witnesses, only the Polaroid photo of the victim). The picture gradually loses its forms, and their colors fade. Finally the image returns to be made clear. The bloodied face and collapsed in pain is again the face of a living person. The gun back in its way, the time back ... (Leonard is killing Teddy, his assistant, having become convinced that the real murderer of his wife).  The order of events in this psychological thriller is revealed back. This gives us greater ability to understand the situation of the protagonist, who suffers short memory loss. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) refuses to surrender, and follows a strict method to recall the gist of their actions through notes, tattoos and photographs. All with one goal ... revenge the murder of his wife.  People who are aware of its "quality” intend to use it for their own purposes ... or help, as Natalie and Teddy. The film is unique; it would seem that for their specific experimental edition. It develops through two intertwined story lines. One is shot in black and white and the other in color. The events pass color inversely to their logical order, going back in time, so that the viewer gets into the skin of the protagonist and his dismay at the situation and gradually discovers the events that caused the whole story, beginning with the murder of his wife. A curious detail is that while there are scenes that are "backwards" around the sound is normally issued. On the other hand the music is minimal, with the intention of producing a greater emotional freedom in the spectator. As we reached the bottom of the story, many things change in meaning: allies become enemies, the victims are guilty. Leonard solitary scenes while fighting in his hotel room on his inability to create memories are in black and white. The  scenes from his search for the murderer of his wife are shown in color from the story line "in real time ". The past becomes present.  You can not trust his veracity and only the facts allow us to understand the reality ... This is the philosophy of Leonard in combating the problem.

Source: http://es.shvoong.com/books/1746728-memento-review-la-película/ # ixzz1VbyYfBnT

Flippo noir characteristics

1. Dark, shadowy, contrasted images filmed in black and white (a contribution of German Expressionism) -- often at night and usually in a gritty urban setting 


2. Hard-boiled, cynical, disillusioned characters -- who are nevertheless usually likable 


3. male protagonist facing a moral dilemma and/or some kind of threat 


4. An alluring, sassy, independent and usually dangerous woman 


5. Flashbacks -- a wavering past and present, inextricably linked 


6. A voice-over narration


7. A healthy dose of paranoia or, at the very least, a strong sense of insecurity, betrayal, or being trapped 


8. Angst, American style 


9. Required for "pure" film noir: NO happy ending. A happy ending turns a film noir into a film gris or a melodrama done in noir style.

Source: http://virtual-explorations.org/film_noir.htm

Memento has many of the named characteristics of a film noir, such as death, blood, a crime, no happy ending, black and white scenes and flashbacks. 

Flashbacks

Black and white scenes

Characteristics of Film Noir

Film Noir

From Wikipedia


"Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-whitevisual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during theDepression.

The term film noir, French for "black film",^[1] first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the classic era.^[2] Cinema historians and critics defined the noir canon in retrospect. Before the notion was widely adopted in the 1970s, many of the classic film noirs were referred to as melodramas.^[a] The question of whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre is a matter of ongoing debate among scholars.

Film noir encompasses a range of plots—the central figure may be a private eye (The Big Sleep), a plainclothes policeman (The Big Heat), an aging boxer (The Set-Up), a hapless grifter (Night and the City), a law-abiding citizen lured into a life of crime (Gun Crazy), or simply a victim of circumstance (D.O.A.). Though the noir mode was originally identified with American productions, films now customarily described as noir have been made around the world. Many pictures released from the 1960s onward share attributes with film noirs of the classic period, often treating noir conventions in a self-referential manner. Such latter-day works in a noir mode are often referred to as neo-noirs. The tropes of film noir have inspired parody since the mid-1940s."

Characteristics:

History: 1940s-50s, Hollywood Studio but a reaction against the glamour and idealisation of Hollywood
Setting: Nameless timeless urban landscape,
Tone: cynical, subversive
Themes: crime, detective, thriller, revenge, immorality, bleakness, alienation, moral corruption, guilt... a lack of a happy ending...
Characters: Male protagonist: detective, police officer, a drinker and smoker, not a success in his personal or professional life, often as amoral as the people he chases, falls for the... femme fatale: a beautiful usually independent woman who typically leads the male protagonist astray, the antithesis of the loving, maternal, domestic female. 

Femme Fatale

Classics: The Third Man, A Touch of Evil, The Maltese Fiction, Big Sleep, Sunset Boulevard...  
Neo Noir: Se7en, Fargo, Fight Club, The Game, Brick, Batman, Memento...  
Technical aspects: close ups, spot lighting, contrasts between black and white, use of shadows, smoke; iconography of fedoras and cigarettes, smart three piece suits and pcket watches...

Waiting for Superman

Pre-Production

In the first place, we should make an appropiate research to know all the information related to the topic., as well as the most affected people, who are the ones that are going to be iterviewed.

- In order to make this documentary we should have a number of arragements regarding the interviews. Such as, who are we going to interview, why is he/she being interviewed, where would that interview take place, when and fianlly a list with all of the questions related with the documentary topic.

Production

- Through the documentary there are different interviews made to children who are the main affected by the educational system,  we also see interviews made to politicians, councilors, eduactional reformers, who are trying very hard to make a difference and finally to teachers who fight against these eduactional system in order to achieve a fair education.

- There are a number of footages thorugh out the doucmentary. We can distinguish, different speeches from politicians and important buissness men who seem concerned about education, different scenes from TV shows or movies such us The Simpsons or old movies as the one Superman and appears. On the other hand, live footage we were able to identify were, all of the interviews made to teachers, students, parents, etc, and scenes such as the lottery taking place or kids at school. 

 Post-Production

- graphs and cartoons

- non digetic music added

- voice-over

Cache Review- Best Two Pragraphs

As the sequence begins, Georges enters the building while the camera takes him with a low angle, to portray him as a vulnerable character, the victim of the situation. The public in the building is used to show that he is a successful person, as well as a public figure, an expert of what he does.

As Majid’s son appears, he is a big, imposing figure, revealing only his back, without showing his hidden side, his unknown identity. When he appears, Georges is giving him his back, showing that Georges’ past returns to haunt him. There is also a physical difference, creating a contrast between the past and the present in Georges’ life. However, as he turns, hi is confronting his past, to end the situation. 

Documentary- Six Point Plan

1. We have chosen our topic to demonstrate the insecurity there is in the roads of Argentina within the driving methods people here have. The main message we want to convey is to warn people about this serious problem the Argentina has that puts in risk many people lives. 
2. Our target audience are people within 17 to 25 years old, because these people are the most affected by this problems since they drive late in the night where they are tired and are not conscious of the risks driving has. Besides at these ages, these groups do not have that much experience in driving. 
3. We will use a Canon 7D to film and record. We will also need a computer with final cut pro to edit the film. 
4. Our primary sources will be the people we interview to gather information, they will talk about how they suffer this problem and their opinion about it. Our secondary source would be other extra information or materials that will be donated by Belen’s dad who works in these areas. 
5. Interviewer: Mercedes Bossi, Organizer and producer: Belen Lopez, Filming: Catalina Somoza. The editing will be done by the three of us. 
6. As a basis of our film we will use a pilot of a new TV show about traffic issues and insecurities.