Pitcher's Film Blog

Key Scenes - For reference. 'Casablanca' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbDv7XXrPqE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_uINM_XI6I 'Do the Right Thing' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4y7GPeFBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc6_XgtOQgI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G7TTDEHl5o 'Under the Skin' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOVJsTc_HMU&t=112s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uny-fKueivo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJV546PsXKg 'Trainspotting' https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=trainspotting+job+interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RoMaS1pzOE&t=141s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtbS_PdA198 'Captain Fantastic' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQlhjeWQTSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib1epk_tAOI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkQpgNecMQA 'No Country for Old Men' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLCL6OYbSTw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eZ6EACDKiE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX...

'One Week': Full Short Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBGBj6cse1M Wikipedia Page:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Week_(1920_film) IMDB Page:   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011541/ The short film, 'One Week', directed by and starring the famed, Buster Keaton ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buster_Keaton ), is a remarkable example of early cinematic storytelling as well as being a film that adeptly undermined a number of contextually relevant conventions in order to convey an effective comical narrative. The works of Buster Keaton are (often) know to experiment with the limits of what one can convey within a narrative through the implementation of planned elaborate stunts and creative film editing (, post-filming). 'One Week' could easily be identified as one of his best works since it takes the standard conventions of a romantic narrative and flips it on its head; in short, the narrative features two newlyweds, (each played by Buster Keaton a...

For the assigned ‘Film Studies’ project, we were tasked with the creation of a 5-minute short film that conveyed a sufficient understanding of standard film form, camera usage, script writing, necessary planning (prior to the final shooting of the film,) & basic acting skills. I decided, as one who possesses an interest in practical effects (, VFX) and science-fiction, monster movies from the ’80s to late ’90s, that I would create a short film that made use of my (already existing) artistic skill set. When first conceptualising the film’s plot and general style, I began to integrate visual & film based elements from a small referential collection of films & media that I had personally selected; these included titles such as, ‘The Thing (1982)’, ‘Evil Dead 2’ & ‘An American Werewolf In London’. It is from these sources of reference that I finally established my main film concept (along with some creative concepts contributed by my father who works within the film indust...

'Man's Best Friend'  a 4-5 minute student horror . The main focus being on the usage of homemade practical effects having been inspired by sources such as 'The Thing 1982' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bottin ),  'Evil Dead 2' (which in turn spawned the now popular series known 'Ash vs the Evil Dead' ) and 'An American Werewolf in London'. I feel as though making a modern-day homage to these cult classics will serve as a testament to the cinematographic art form that is practical effects production. For my short film I have planned to limit myself to a 5 second limit on the use of animated practical effects as I feel as though attempting to make anything longer than that would be either unrealistic from a production standpoint, or a waste of time relative to the amount of usable footage gained. Though the overall plot of my film is relativistically speaking, very basic, however I believe that my focus on practical ef...

Official Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7cc5t7tv8 . Sites for reference: -Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Quiet_Place_(film) . -IMDB:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6644200/ . ' A Quiet Place ' is a 2018 horror, science-fiction, thriller  (with a running time of 90 minutes) that was directed by John Krasinski ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Krasinski ) and produced by Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form . The film itself grossed over $338.6 million within the box office, greatly exceeding its original budget of (a relatively small,) $17 million; though proving to be a success within the film industry, it did face a number of rather unique issues within cinemas globally as the plots focus heavy on silence (as suggested by the name) lead to problems with sound produced by the audience during public screenings, such as people talking and consumption of food items within the theatre during scenes of (building) tension. The f...

Youtube link: 'Opening' :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMnp-XmMiEg Youtube link: 'Ending' :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvjiQTdcCRU The film, 'Pan's Labyrinth', (directed by Guillermo Del Toro,) opens and ends with two near identical scenes. Beginning with little to no visual detail, the viewer(s) is only given the faint sound of (semi-fast) breathing; the sound is non-diegetic at first, creating a sense of ambiguity as well as emphasising the sound as it is not contested by any visual distractions. As the shot pans (no pun intended) upward, it is revealed that the source of the (now diegetic) sound is a (presumably severely) injured girl who is bleeding profusely from her nose; this indicates that she is possibly suffering from either internal bleeding or brain damage, given the setting she is in, one would assume that she wouldn't be able to receive the necessary treatment required to heal such wounds in time, further emphasising the ...

Isle of Dogs. Directed (and Produced) by Wes Anderson. 2018 Official Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQEx83hUPkI Wikipedia Page (for reference):  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Dogs_(film) Wes Anderson's Wiki Page:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Anderson The film, 'Isle of Dogs' is a charming cinematic, stop-motion experience which sticks to the original Wes Anderson of everything within the scene being perfected centred; the plot focuses heavily upon the deep seeded relationship between man and canine species and the integration of otherwise wild animals into civilised human society. With a running time of 97 minutes, the film manged to gross $64.1 million in the box office and earned a 90% approval rating on rotten tomatoes; while the film has sparked minor controversy over Asian racial stereotyping within the West, it did otherwise perform rather well in the public eye. The film fits into a variety of genres, such as  dystopian ,...

Mans Best Friend. short film premise (running time: approx 1 min 45 seconds) An alternative cinematic medium to present this short film in (other than live action,) is stop motion; using a style similar to that of studio 'Laika' (the developer of films such as Coraline, the Boxtrolls and Paranorman). The short would open with a long shot of a park/forest path at night, this would provide a sense of scale as the main (unnamed) character enters the scene walking his dog (, the dog's breed isn't overly important however the species should be anything larger than a Labrador). The male figure continues down this path with the camera behind him still watching from a distance; the only truly notable source of colour and tone within this scene should be the figure's torch light (,using this item as a creative medium, we should be able to create a variety of imposing, alien shadows which will help to convey a constant sense of unease). After the 30 second mark on the sho...

Official trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0_96_YQu0k Wiki Page (for personal reference): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_World:_Fallen_Kingdom The film 'Jurassic World (2) Fallen Kingdom was released (in cinemas) on the 21st of May, 2018 and is the directed continuation of the Jurassic World franchise. The film itself is an action thriller which features usage of advanced CGI and extensive casting, keeping the two main actors from the previous movie, Chris Pratt ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Pratt ) and Bryce Dallas Howard ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Dallas_Howard ); the overall budget lands at around $170 million and the film has so far generated $150.9 million in the box office (currently falling short by $19.1 million). The film's plot mainly focuses on the generation of tension through dark settings,  occasional sensory deprivation and exposing the viewer(s) to common phobias , usually clearing the atmosphere with comedic relief...

Context: The time period is set in the year 2000/2001, during this time a female subject has been contained within a large complex mainly composed of laboratories and clinics for both physical and psycho therapy. Our story follows two male scientists named Paul. R. Simmons and Rowan. M. Brown, as well as an old female subject whose past is left somewhat ambiguous but claims to be named 'Gaia', the literal embodiment of the Earth (as well as all of flora and fauna that exist on it). https://jamie-pitcher-film-studies.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/unique-character-creation-gaia.html Beginning: The film starts by focusing in on a private scientific facility located within London, (while the location isn't directly given to the audience, it may be implied that the complex exists within a more secluded section of the city;) it is within this facility that the audience is introduced to the two male protagonists as well as the main protagonist, 'Gaia'. During this section o...

The film 'Casablanca' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film) ) was a cinematic very much based in the time of its release, throughout the years it has gain much popularity and is deemed a cult classic to those who study the theme, 'film noir'. The film itself focuses heavily upon the present state of the second world war and the political/militaristic states of the worlds leading superpowers. Within the film there are a number of characters which serve as the literal embodiment of the country which they represent, in turn each individual conveys the ideologies and political stance of their country in a way which can be easily interpreted by the audience. A prime example of political representation within this film is the character known as 'Rick', established owner of 'Rick's Cafe Americain'. When the audience is introduced to Rick they learn that he is secretly allowing illegal transactions of visas within his cafe, this shows that Rick ...

Species - (Believed to be) Human Gender - Female (Estimated) Age - 104 (Claims to be 4.54 billion years old) Name - UNKNOWN (Claims to be called 'Gaia') No information can found about this woman prior to her discovery in 1996, she was found (alone) in an abandoned industrial complex, surrounded by a seemingly sentient collection of varying species of flora, as well as the plants that almost entirely engulfed her shrunken form, a number of different animal species could be found, nestled within the vegetation which seemed to grow agitated as a team of biologists, chemists and botanists began to approach the site. The area was placed under strict containment for the four days that followed this discovery, however after all attempts of making contact with the woman (and flora) had failed, she appeared to stir from a deep slumber, her features withered and gnarly. At first, she only responded to questions with a limited vocabulary of differing grunts and groans, some of which...

The highly experimental (, atmospheric) film, 'Under the Skin' was comprised of many scenes that could each be read very deeply into; I am going to cover two of scenes from the movie which i deem hold the most visual/audible importance throughout the duration of the film. Scene 1 : The Final Scene ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJV546PsXKg ) This scene conveys a variety of deep social themes and concepts within a relatively short amount of time; one of the main themes being the fear of the unknown and our reactions to it. Within the final scene there are two individuals of interest, the female protagonist we have been following through out the film and the unnamed assailant who attempts to rape her; both show a reaction to an otherwise unmet stimuli which seemingly causes both panic and irregularity within both characters.The woman (played by Scarlett Johansson) shows obvious fear of the man attempting to rape her, almost returning to a child like mental state in her ...

Official Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmf42pkfgZw Wiki Page (for convenience) :   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Need_to_Talk_About_Kevin_(film) The film 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' is an impressive film which was directed by 'Lynne Ramsay' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Ramsay ) and grossed approximately $10.8 million in the box office; it was produced with a budget of $7 million and happens to be a relatively hard hitting member of the drama/tragedy genre as it also makes excessive usage of visual mediums to convey deep and meaningful concepts relative to the point in the film which they are featured. The film itself follows a non-linear narrative which allows for the creative distribution of information and concepts throughout the film's 112 minute running time. The overall theme of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' is the absence and presence of human emotion, or perhaps more accurately the presence of apathy within a dysfunctiona...

Official Trailer (1) :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcR5KHjoc-0 Wiki Page ( for convenience) :  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Skin_(2013_film) The film 'Under the Skin', directed by Jonathan Glazer ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Glazer ) is an impressive piece consisting or relatively unique visual and audible mediums, everything about this film produces a sense of purpose that greatly relies upon the individual to interpret it in the way they see fit (, no two people should see this film exactly the same way). The film features the famed actress 'Scarlett Johansson' who took a (rewarding) chance performing in such an experimental piece of cinematography; (especially seeing as how the film has occasionally been dubbed as 'Scarlett Johansson simply driving around in a van' however that is a crude summary of the film and I will state why later on. 'Under the Skin' focuses heavily upon the idea of humanity as a concept, the beli...

This Weeks News in the Film Industry http://www.imdb.com/ https://www.vox.com/2018/3/4/17067078/oscars-winners-2018-list http://oscar.go.com/news/nominations/oscar-nominations-2018-full-list-and-highlights The 2018 Oscars occurred very recently, with 'The Shape of Water' winning big with two Oscars (with the help of its 13 nominations), leaving many critically acclaimed films such as 'Get Out', and 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' in the dust. With more news on the Oscars, the #MeToo campaign has gained a considerable amount of spotlight in the last couple of weeks, with the courage and action of a number of individuals coming forth to bring the cruel acts of sexual harassment within the Film Industry to light. We have already witnessed the complete destruction of Harvey Weinstien's career as a film producer due to his violations of employee treatment in and out of the work place (; hopefully we may soon see a much larger decline...

Official trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFYWazblaUA ' The Shape of Water ', directed by Guillermo del Toro ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_del_Toro ) is a fantastical, romantic picture presenting itself with a running time of 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes); the film was created with a (relatively small) budget of 19.5 million US dollars and grossed over 92.3 million in the box office. The plot of the film is seemingly based within the 1960's with an aesthetic that obviously suits the style of its director (Guillermo del Toro), showing some resemblance to some of his earlier films, such as 'Hellboy' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellboy_(2004_film) ). The way the characters of this story are presented also greatly matches Guillermo del Toro as it projects the protagonists in a light that greatly emphasises their importance and somewhat alienates them from the norm of the world they reside within (, again much like 'Hellboy'). Th...

Film Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6pg8fuSB4 The film 'Fish Tank' is a social drama with a running time of 123 minutes and was directed by Andrea Arnold's ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Arnold ); the film was produced with a budget of 3 million US dollars and grossed around 5.9 million US dollars profit. The film covers a number of social topics, such as statutory rape, domestic abuse, differences in social class and the difficulties of growing up (as a teenager); the overall plot of the film develops at a relatively slow pace, however you could argue that this somewhat grounds the story in reality and makes all the significant events that the main protagonist experiences all that more meaningful. The main setting of the film is based in an urban area, which seems to be used to emphasise/convey a crushing sense of imprisonment  and depression; within the beginning and end of the film there is a combined total of three scenes that focus on a mal...

First official movie trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4VmJcZR0Yg The 2017 live action adaption of the cult classic action, cyber-punk anime series 'Ghost in the Shell' was produced on a (large) budget of 110 million US dollars and grossed over 169.8 million US dollars profit in the box office. The film was directed by 'Rupert Sanders' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Sanders ) and featured the renown actress 'Scarlet Johansson' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlett_Johansson ) as the lead protagonist. Throughout the film's 106 minute run time, it combats a number of social issues, the main being the intensive focus on prosthetic development and integration into modern day society, thus following the philosophy that our organic bodies can no longer meet the standards we desire of them. The plot of the film was relatively predictable and can best be summarised as a linear story, due to the film's large budget no expenses were...

First official trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAElp03BUCs 'An American Werewolf in London' is a classic horror comedy directed by 'John Landis' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Landis ) that was completed with a 10 million dollar budget and grossed around 62 million dollars in box office.  The film itself features a variety of settings such as the vast stretches of rural land within England as well as the packed, recognisable streets of 1980's  London, this contrast between environments emphasises the characteristics of both rural and urban Britain whilst and also helping the viewer to acknowledge each change of location more clearly. The main character(s) which are introduced at the start of the film greatly stand out from their surroundings, each of them is wearing a (relatively) modern water resistant coat as well as a large travellers backpack, from these alone it is obvious that these two are aliens in damp moors of Yorkshire (of which the...