I noticed in Persepolis (2007) directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, that cigarettes were used to signal the beginning of a flashback. The inital flashback started right after Marjane light a cigarette in the airport, the man that was in prison (I believe it was her uncle or father’s friend) light a cigarette right before he told his story, when Marjane resumed her flashback, and at the end of the film a man is smoking a cigarette as the film flashes forward to present time as Marjane leaves the airport in a taxi. I liked this subtle signal because to me it adds a sense of pain into whats about to be told. It is as if the characters are saying that they need to smoke to be able to open up and tell their tale. It does also provide a cool tansitional effect as the smoke whispers curl and fade as the shot fades to the flashback.

Over spring break I saw Birdman (2014) which was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. I found the method in which Alejandro shot the movie was very interesting and unique. Each shot was very long and the cuts between shots were hard to recognize. This gave the film the feeling as if it was just one continuous shot. The camera also seemed to be mainly hand-held as it moved with the characters. It is an interesting filming method and definitely made the film feel less film-like and more realistic in a sense.

This past week I was sick with the flu and could hardly leave my bed for about two days. During which I watched a lot of netflix, particularly the show Parks and Rec. While watching I couldn’t help but notice the use of thirds. Often when two characters were conversing the camera would show one’s shoulder and back of their head and the other character’s face, who usually talking, would be right on the third line. I never really realized this while watching any show. But now that I am aware of the use of thirds I see it every where in just about every show I’ve seen recently. This technique does make the layout of the scene and the characters very clear.

I thought the use of music Pontecorvo incorporated in his film The Battle of Algiers was well done. the use of music in the scenes leading up to the three Algerian women’s bombing the french quarter and the bombing scenes themselves were particularly effective. The music itself was very intense with a rapid and jarring beat. However what made the scenes even more dramatic was the contrast of sounds the director used. Scenes would switch off with the music or just standard sounds. I thought this was effective because when there is music that is continuously playing in the background the audience may tune it out and it loses its potency. The film however avoids this by cutting of the music and bringing it back through the use of different scenes. This prohibits the audience from sub-consciously tuning out the music and increases the effect of intense music.

I found Spike Lee’s ‘breaking of the fourth wall’ particularly effective. Having the actors speak directly at the camera puts the audience in the direct line of fire of the onslaught of verbal abuse the various characters dished out. Spike’s use of this cinematic effect is very different from what I am used to. Typically, in the shows or movies I’ve seen, the breaking of the fourth wall is used for either comedic effect or to explain something. These types of uses acknowledge that the audience is someone watching a screen. Spike Lee’s use, however, pulls the audience into the film to experience racial aggression first hand.