Scene Deconstruction

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_wlyIHRJT4)

This movie is rather vague in terms of theme. Many argue there isn't one, some beg to differ, others could care less. I personally don't see one main theme but several 'mini' themes throughout the movie. This particular scene has a dramatic contrast between one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie, and one of the most gruesome. Which incidentally all happens within these 3 minutes. The major theme I get from this scene that roughly relates to the rest of the movie is when you are fighting against corruption there is only a thin line between you and them. Then again you can't go wrong when beating up thug gangsters, or when you're Ryan Gosling. Whatever theme there is, it is most definitely didactic, and if it's active I must be blind because I had a hard time finding it.

This scene, like the movie, is short on words. All of the actions express any and all emotion you could ever need from a movie like this. 'Driver' as he is called, pushes Irene against the wall and kisses her romantically knowing this may be the last time he sees her. Their bodies line up perfectly so the kiss is right on the left vertical third of the screen. The posture of their bodies creates a vertical rhythm with the also vertical light behind them. Seconds later, and the appropriately named driver, Driver is engaged in a very one sided fight against the gangster thug in the elevator. After bashing the thug's skull in Driver turns around and sees Irene standing outside of the elevator horrified. The space in between Driver and Irene at this point makes for a very dramatic shot. You can tell that he is embarrassed for losing his sanity in front of some one special to him, and that she is mortified from seeing such animosity from such a caring person. There is a sudden contrast between affection and animosity.

Animation Deconstruction

The images above are screen caps from Adventure Time (top)

and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (bottom)

Both images are modern cartoons on Cartoon Network that show unique techniques in color, and lighting. At a glance, Adventure Time has brighter, less-saturated pastel colors. Where, Flapjack has darker, more saturated, and rich colors. The line thickness differs as well. In the Flapjack image you can see the lines are much thicker with choppy lined shadows , and the Adventure Time image uses thin lines with smooth conforming shadows. 

As far as lighting and mood goes, the Adventure Time image is cast in dim light, and the Flapjack image has a bright light shining in from the left-ish side. Both images, however, share a happy, warm-hearted mood. What really sets the two apart is the detail of the lines. In Adventure Time, most of the images are simplistic and don't have a lot of detail. Flapjack is the exact opposite with a finer detail to the face, especially on close up grotesque shots like this one.

Also, the color of each character distinguishes them from the less-attention-grabbing background similar to the Tom and Jerry portion of the Animation lecture.

Story Board Imitation

Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsj7Tk6uWf0

In this scene the director followed the 180 degree rule, the rule of thirds, and the 30 rules. The first shot is the start of the scene, a head on shot. The director gets by with a jump cut because new characters are introduced into the scene. From there the cameras never pass the 180 degree mark, and move at least 30 degrees for each shot. As for the framing, every frame after the first one follow the rule of thirds. 

I liked the shots the direct took when filming this scene. The first shot is an introduction into the scene, an establishing shot. After that shot, all of the of the other shots follow the rule of thirds and the 180 degree rule perfectly.

Song Deconstruction

I chose to analyze the song "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead, and a cover of the song by Matthew Hemerlein, and Tosin Abasi.

Paranoid Android - Radiohead




Listening Phase 1: Rhythm
Tempo: Medium (Slows down around 3:30)
Source: Rhythm comes from the assorted percussion parts and drumset
Groove: Relaxed, and flowing

Listening Phase 2: Arrangement
Instrumentation: Lead and rhythm guitar drive the song
Structure/Organization: Song starts with repeating guitar part, clave, guiro, and drumset. Short sound effects build in as the song goes on to add depth.
Emotional Architecture: From the beginning the song builds until about 3:30 where it slows down then picks back up at 5:35. The slower part creates a solemn feeling.


Listening Phase 3: Sound Quality
Height: This song ranges from a low base part, to a medium pitched guitar part, and high pitched vocals. There are parts in the song where the melody dips into lower, base-y tones.
Width: Little to no pan happening in this song. The sound is evenly spread between both speakers.
Depth: This song has a lot of depth from it's instrumentation. As expected from Radiohead there are a lot of auxiliary percussion parts, and short guitar effects that add quite a bit of depth to the song.


Paranoid Android (cover) - Matthew Hemerlein, Tosin Abasi





Listening Phase 1: Rhythm
Tempo: Medium speed, then slows down like the original version except it does not build back up to the original tempo
Source: Guitar drives the rhythm
Groove: Acoustic, raw, on the beat, it gets funky between 2:06-2:12

Listening Phase 2: Arrangement
Instrumentation: Guitar provides the melody, upright string bass replaces the vocals and provides some of the bass parts
Structure/Organization: Like the original, the guitar repeats the same parts throughout the song, but the upright string bass replaces the vocals until the bass player begins singing
Emotional Architecture: The song starts fairly simple, picks up more emotion from the string bass as the song goes on, and then slows down dramatically and adds vocals


Listening Phase 3: Sound Quality
Height: Not much height in this version. You have the guitar playing most of the melody, and the string bass doing vocals/bass parts
Width: No pan in this cover. This is a studio recording with equal levels from both instruments coming out of both speakers.
Depth: Both guitar/string bass/vocals are layered equally, and have relatively the same volume

The covered version of Paranoid Android is minimal in comparison to the original. It only has 2 different instruments and most of the lyrics are 'sung' through the string bass. The original version has more of a full instrumentation: Guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, vocals, aux percussion, and drum set. In both versions the melody comes from the guitar, and the harmony comes from the bass parts. Both have similar tempos and include a part where the song slows down considerably. Obviously the original has more height and depth, due to the instrumentation, and can be argued that it has a stronger emotional build/drop than the covered version. However the covered version does do a good job of gripping the audience emotionally with it's simplicity and clarity of the parts. Of the two, the original version is my favorite because of it's depth and instrumentation.