8.) Feeling Moody - Kill Bill

 Hello! Welcome back or welcome to my blog! In this post, I have created a mood board for Kill Bill Vol. 1, which I've mentioned is one of my favorite films. I will also be analyzing the pictures I've chosen.

Mood Board- Kill Bill

Welcome back to my blog :)

Above is a mood board I created with 15 pictures to emanate the overall mood of Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Together, the pictures convey a sense of brutality and battle which create a thrilled, suspenseful mood. Given the plot of Kill Bill, it utilizes key themes of revenge, power, and strength- Each picture in the mood board exudes these themes in the moments captured.

 If you are unfamiliar with the movie, to sum up the plot simply, it is about "A former assassin, known simply as The Bride (Uma Thurman), wakes from a coma four years after her jealous ex-lover Bill (David Carradine) attempts to murder her on her wedding day. Fueled by an insatiable desire for revenge, she vows to get even with every person who contributed to the loss of her unborn child, her entire wedding party, and four years of her life. After devising a hit list, The Bride sets off on her quest, enduring unspeakable injury and unscrupulous enemies."(“Kill Bill: Vol. 1.” Rotten Tomatoes, 10 Oct. 2003, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kill_bill_vol_1.)

Taking this into account, us as the audience can make connections between each scene clip in the mood board and the themes in the movie.

To break down further, I will explain some pictures from the mood board, the mood they convey, what they contribute to the overall feel of the movie.

These two scene stills capture The Bride in moments of combat. Each show her contemplating her next moves while still fighting. The close especially allows us to read her thought-process.These make the audience feel the suspense of not knowing her next moves.

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.      These two scene stills capture two major moments of discovery for The Bride. In the first, she finally arrives to the place where she will fight one of the last people on her hit-list after having to go through the Crazy-88 members. In the second, which occurred before, she is exposed to the most powerful weapon for battle. These can create a sense of relief for the audience.

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       These similar stills emphasize a cause and effect relationship. In the first with the red background, The Bride is being trained to fight. In the second with the violet background, she is actively in battle, fighting large sums of people solo. This     repetition in style choice shows transformation, and showcases The Brides of pure skill by the use of silhouettes on a solid background.

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These stills convey senses of vulnerability, emphasized by the use of low shots. We can see people who have power over The Bride looking down at her. In the first, we can see The Bride in the hospital still in her coma being looked down on. In the second, we are put in the POV of The Bride, and we can see the contributors of her attempted death looking down on her. These give context as to why The Bride seeks vengeance and can create a eager mood as the audience is put in her shoes.

Overall, these are just few examples that 

contribute to the retributive feel of the movie.

7.) Mis en Scene Analysis - Parasite

Helloo! Welcome back or welcome to my blog! In this post, I will be practicing my ability to analyze Mis en scene and I'll be using scenes from another all time favorite movie of mine, 'Parasite'.

In this scene, we see Ki-woo and Ki-jung conversing in this cramped bathroom. During this moment, they are urgently trying to get cell phone service from around the house and finally getting it once they're in the bathroom. Both characters are squeezed into this small space, with the toilet and walls framing their positions. This tight space and framing highlights the characters lack of personal space and their lower economic status and visually reinforces the themes of poverty and entrapment. The bathroom itself includes damp, stained walls and a general sense of neglect, which contributes to the oppressive environment. Both of them are dressed in casual, everyday clothing. Is is practical and modest, highlighting their lower-class background and their struggle to make ends meet.

Later on in the movie, a flood happens in the Kim family's home and Ki-jung resorts to the bathroom to smoke. Her attire is casual and damp from the flood, highlighting her disheveled state. The scene is set in the semi-basement apartment's bathroom, a space that already symbolizes the family's low status. The flooding transforms the bathroom from unpleasant to unlivable, increasing the sense of crisis and chaos. The bathroom is small, cramped, and now filled with filthy water, creating an atmosphere of desperation. The elevated toilet, intended to prevent flooding, ironically becomes Ki-jung's only place of safety. The cigarette Ki-jung smokes serves as a touching prop because it symbolizes her attempt to find a moment of comfort and control in the middle of chaos. The lighting is dim and murky, reflecting the gloominess of the scene. It has a sickly, yellowish tint, showing the dirty water and the unhealthy environment.

In this ending scene, it uses warm and natural lighting that is consistent with wealthy Park family's party and it suggests comfort and celebration. However, this brightness contrasts the dark and violent event that unfolds. The Park family and guests wear light, pastel, or neutral colors which symbolizing their privilege, while the intruder comes out as bloody, disheveled, and dressed in all black. His appearance visually disrupts the pristine environment. Also, his movements are erratic unlike the organized surroundings. The birthday party itself symbolizes wealth and eventually becomes the place for an eruption of violence that highlights the resentment and instability hidden in the house. 

In this scene, we get a get a glimpse of reality for the Kim Family. The line is drawn between the two families. In contrast to 'Jessica's' environment, the rich Mrs. Park is freely looking through her luxurious closet for her birthday outfit whereas Jessica is sitting on the floor at the crowded flood shelter while poor people are fighting over dirty and ragged clothes in the background. At the flood shelter, the lighting is cold and dim, evoking a sterile atmosphere. This highlights the harshness of the environment and lack of comfort or warmth. The shelter is dominated by muted, neutral tones of gray, blue, and brown, which reflects on the bleakness of the situation. The cell phone itself is a tool that connects the two different worlds. Even though Jessica is physically in a degrading environment, her voice remains to a polite, professional tone. She sits on the gym ground, hunched over amidst a pile of other displaced families. Her proximity to the others and low position in the frame shows her vulnerability and discomfort.

In this scene, Mrs. Park sits comfortably in the back of car, describing the flood as a 'blessing,' while Mr. Kim silently drives. She is framed in the back seat, sitting back and putting her feet up, symbolizing her high social status and carefree attitude. In contrast, Mr. Kim is in the background unfocused, sitting in the driver's seat with a rigid posture and sad facial expression. The camera pans to Mr. Kim and places Mrs. Park in the background unfocused. The grimace on his face is so much more powerful than any word he could say to describe the impact of her blissful ignorance of the flood. Even Mrs. Park's attire reflects her life of comfort and security, as she is dressed in light, soft colors. Mr. Kim is dressed in neutral clothing that reflects his gloomy and muted expression. Mrs. Park's comment about the flood being a 'blessing' serves as a clear metaphor for privilege. For her, the rain that ruined the Kim family's house is reduced to a small inconvenience that washed away pollution. 

 

6.) Sound Story- Beach Day

Helloo!! Welcome back or welcome to my blog! In this post, I have uploaded my sound story audio as well as my foley video. I will also be sharing a little bit about my experience making a sound story for the first time!

Sound Story-

Foley Stage Video-

Script-

My experience 🏖-

My sound story depicts a fun, relaxing day at the beach. Key points in the story are laying beachside listening to the ocean and background reggae music, the opening of a soda can, and people laughing and splashing in the ocean.

While creating my sound story project, I found it fairly easy, however, it was also tedious. To create both the sound story and the foley stage video, I used IMovie. With using this editing platform, I had to individually insert each sound clip and layer them the way I wanted.

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During this portion of editing, it took some getting used to to layer and adjust the volume of each clip because with this being the first time I edited a video without any help, the initial layering of clips can seem overwhelming, but after tweaking and learning, it became easy, but tedious. 

Other than my background music, bubble sounds, and some additional ocean wave sounds, every sound made was my own. For instance, I made wave sounds by layering me blowing into a microphone, a video taken outdoors for ambient noise, me gently brushing the mic, etc... Additionally, I opened and poured a canned drink close to the mic. I also layered multiple videos of me laughing and exclaiming to mimic the voices of multiple people having fun. 

Because I made most sounds myself, and edited using a platform with no templates, the project did take a good amount of time, but I preferred the method I used because I found that I had a lot of control and creative freedom. I successfully learned how to layer, chop, and adjust audio clips without the inclusion of visual video. Since I did the sound story first and the foley video after, once I got to the foley, it was a breeze because I had already explored and got acquainted with the tools of the platform. Overall, I'd say I had a bit of a rough start, but eventually smoothly and successfully edited my project.