Documentary Storytelling- ARDT

Midterm Blog Post: "Run Forrest Run!" Scene Analysis

The scene that I chose to do a shot by shot analysis of is the iconic scene in Forrest Gump when Forrest, sitting at the bus stop, tells the story about how the first time he ran without his leg braces. This is not only one of my favorite scenes, but it also is a very important part in building the plot of the movie. I love the use of camera movement as well as the use of depth during the chase scenes to show the distance between the bullies and Forrest. I also loved how they were able to seamless transition from Forrest narrating the story to a flashback of the story as it he is telling it. So without further ado, lets begin!

The scene opens with a medium two shot of Forrest Gump and a woman sitting at the bus stop. This scene shows Forrest talking to the woman, who isn’t actually paying attention to him. By putting her in the forefront of the shot, it emphasizes to the fact that she isn’t actually paying attention to him, but Forrest tells her his story anyway due to his intellectual disability. CUT TO...

The scene opens with a medium two shot of Forrest Gump and a woman sitting at the bus stop. This scene shows Forrest talking to the woman, who isn’t actually paying attention to him. By putting her in the forefront of the shot, it emphasizes to the fact that she isn’t actually paying attention to him, but Forrest tells her his story anyway due to his intellectual disability. CUT TO...

A medium shot of a young Jenny and Forrest from behind with Forrest's home in the distance, where suddenly Forrest gets hit in the back of the head with a rock. This scene is shot from behind them to show that whoever threw the rock at him was behind him. At the end of this shot, Jenny looks behind her. CUT TO...

An extreme wide shot of the three boys who are bullying Forrest with their bicycles. This is the first shot in the scene where we see the full setting: they are on a desolate dirt road, the perfect place to pick on Forrest without getting caught. This shot also shows the leader of the pack pick up a second rock from the road. CUT TO...

A medium close up of Forrest turning around to look at the bullies while Jenny watches them as well. However, he quickly gets hit in the head again, this time facing the camera so the view can see his reaction as the blow hit him. The second rock hits him so hard it it obvious that he is going to fall down backwards. Just as he is about to fall out of the frame, CUT TO...

A wide low angle shot of the bullies with Forrests feet in the foreground of the frame as he falls to the ground. This shot was an interesting way to show the bullies continue to taunt him although he is on the ground. This also allows the audience to see that Forrest is still wearing his leg braces. By putting him at a lower level than the bullies, this along wiht his braces showing enhances the idea that Forrest is helpless in this situation. CUT TO...

A high angle shot of Forrest on the ground at Jenny’s feet as she grabs his hand to help him up. It is shot from behind his head, keeping with the flow from the previous scene. This shot includes a tilt up, so that the viewer can see she is helping him, with the motion allowing the audience to keep Forrest in the frame while showing him as he starts to get off the ground. CUT TO...

A medium two shot of Jenny and Forrest as she helps him stand up fully. I believe they chose to quickly show this cut to because they didn’t want to break up the continuity of the scene by keeping to the 180 degree rule. CUT TO...

A medium slightly low angle shot of the bullies as the leader and one of the other boys pick up rocks and throw them at Forrest for the third time. This is the closet shot of the bullies thus far with each previous shot getting closer than the first. This symbolizes that the bullies’ are getting more confident and are starting to close in on Forrest. CUT TO...

A medium two shot of Jenny and Forrest. Forrest is at a profile, and is shown getting hit again with the rocks that were thrown from the previous shot. Getting to see his profile while he is getting hit allows the audience to realize that although getting hit hurts him, he doesn’t seem to be scared because his learning disability causes him to not comprehend that he is being bullied. CUT TO...

A medium close up of Forrest and Jenny with the bullies behind them as they scurry for more rocks to throw at Forrest. This is the first time the audience has seen Forrest with his back to the bullies as Jenny pushes him forward and tells him to run away. As she pushes him, CUT TO...

A medium shot of Jenny pushing Forrest from behind, showing him start to limp towards the safety of his home. CUT TO...

Return to the medium slightly low angle shot of the bullies as the leader throws one last rock while the other two rush to get on their bicycles. CUT TO...

A medium close up of the bikes as the boys quickly pick them up off the ground so that they can chase Forrest down. With a quick tilt up (following the movement of the bicycles) the boys hop on their bikes and begin to chase Forrest down. CUT TO...

A wide shot of the boys on their bicycles passing Jenny as they race towards Forrest. As they pass out of the frame, Jenny runs toward the camera so that she is slightly left of the center of the frame. This allows for her looking room to be towards Forrest as she watches him try to run away. It’s at this point that she says her iconic line, “Run Forrest, Run!”. CUT TO...

A wide shot of Forrest as he waddles away with his home in the distance. This shot shows movement as it moves with him because the camera keeps Forrest to the left of the frame. The movement of the camera makes the viewer feel as if they are running with him. As he is running, Forrest looks back to see how far away he is from the bullies. CUT TO...

A wide POV shot of the bullies on riding their bicycles toward him. Although the camera is moving away from them, the bullies ride closer into the frame, showing that they are slowly catching up to him. CUT TO...

A medium close up of Forrest looking back forward as he continues to run away from the bullies. CUT TO...

An extreme wide shot with Forrest in the foreground. Using a slightly shallow depth of field, the attention of the viewer is drawn to how the braces limit the use of Forrest’s legs, but in the background (although slightly out of focus) you can see the bullies on their bikes coming toward him. CUT TO...

Returning to the close up of Forrest from the previous shot, showing him as he looks back again. He is obviously struggling at this point. CUT TO...

A low angle close up of one of the bike pedals as the bullies quickly pedal and begins to catch up with Forrest as he is “growing” in the frame. Since the bike pedal is to the left of the frame, Forrest is seen running in the background, again slightly using shallow depth of field to artistically portray the scene. CUT TO...

A close up following shot of Forrest’s legs as he continues to run. At this point, the scene transitions from normal speed to slow motion. Slow motion is used to let the audience know that something important is about to happen, in this case the idea that a miracle is about to happen. (cue inspirational music) CUT TO...

Still in slow motion, return to the medium close up of Jenny as she yells “Run Forrest, Run!” again. CUT TO...

A wide shot of the bullies on their bikes coming towards Forrest. This shot serves as a POV. CUT TO...

A close up shot of Forrest’s face as he turns away from the bullies and keeps running. CUT TO...

Return to the low angle close up shot of the bike pedal with Forrest in the background. Even though the shot is in slow motion, it is obvious that they are quickly catching up to him (or so you think...). CUT TO...

A close up shot of Forrest’s legs running. In slow motion, there is a clear transition that shows the change in Forrest’s running. He finally shifts from “waddling” to using his legs correctly. Because he uses his legs correctly, his leg braces begin to break into pieces and fall off of his legs. CUT TO...

A close up of Forrest looking down at his legs in amazement and realizing that he is able to use his legs correctly and without his braces. CUT TO...

Return to the close up shot of Forrest’s legs and watch as the pieces of his braces continue to fall off and he leaves them behind him. CUT TO...

Return to the close up shot of the bike pedal with Forrest in the background. This time, Forrest is in focus and the pedal is slightly out of focus through a shallow depth of field. As Forrest is running you can see the pieces of his braces flying behind him. CUT TO...

Return to the close up shot of Forrest’s legs as the last pieces of his braces fall off and he runs normally. CUT TO...

Return to the close up shot of his face as he excitedly realizes he can run without his braces and keeps going in hopes of outrunning the bullies. CUT TO...

A low angle close up of the former pieces of Forrest’s braces lie scattered on the ground as the bikes ride over them. This is used to symbolize that Forrest’s days of having to wear leg braces and his days of being picked on because those days are now behind him. CUT TO...

A wide shot following Forrest as he continues to run, but although he is still in slow motion, he slowly moves from the left side of the frame to the right. This shows that he is picking up speed and symbolizes that he is getting further away from the bullies. CUT TO...

 A close up shot of Forrest grown up and sitting at the bus stop as he continues to tell his story. The angle of the camera is slightly to the left of his profile, showing that someone is sitting by him and listening to his story. By using a close up shot, the viewer is able to gauge how proud he is to tell this story based on his expression. He then cuts his eyes to his left, where the woman who wasn’t paying attention to him was sitting. CUT TO...

A close up of the woman who is still reading her magazine and not paying attention to Forrest. CUT TO...

A close up of Forrest’s face directly in the center of the frame, as he triumphantly says that anywhere he went from that day forward, he ran there. This close up again allows the viewer to see his expression more clearly and draws the focus to this. CUT TO...

We return back to the story in regular speed. This shot is an extreme wide shot with the three bullies on their bikes in the background with Forrest running away from them. In this shot, the camera slowly pans as Forrest runs out of the frame to show that he is running faster than the bullies are riding. The camera pans all the way around to follow the boys and show the dirt trail Forrest made while running as he is far away from them. With their backs to the camera now, the boys stop riding and angrily throw their bikes on the ground because they have been outrun. Also, this shot shows Forrest's house the closest is has been throughout the scene, showing the distance that has been covered down the dirt road. CUT TO...

An extreme wide shot with Forrest running at the center of the frame, only to pan quickly left to show Forrest running off the dirt road and into the field to the right of him. From here, the camera raises to a high angle as Forrest runs further into the field, symbolizing the freedom he feels now that he can run normally without his braces. This shot is artistically shot passing through a large tree. This tree is used to show that Forrest is getting further away from the camera through it’s use of depth. And END SCENE.

Blog Post #3: Effective and Motivated Camera Movement

1. Jean Valjean's Solioquy- Les Miserables

When reading the topic of this week's blog, I immediately thought of this scene. This scene of Jean Valjean's decision to discard himself of the identity of Jean Valjean and create a better life for himself is powerful on it's own, but the choices made by Tom Hooper (director) and Danny Cohen (cinematographer) make this scene even more powerful. The scene opens with Jean Valjean on his knees in the church after just being saved by the bishop from having to return to jail. It is obvious that this scene is shot with a hand held camera (as is much of the film), which I found to help symbolize how unbalanced he feels at this point of the film. Hooper also uses various forms of the spin around technique to show how at this point in the movie Valjean feels his life is spinning out of control due to his confusion on where to go from here. The vast majority of this scene is shot as a close up to Valjean (Hugh Jackman)'s face, so that the audience can really see the emotion he is portraying. The only other time he is not using a close up, he puts Valjean at the bottom of the frame, which not only showcases the beautiful church's ceilings, but is also used to symbolize the idea that he feels trapped in his identity and the idea of leading a Christian life is weighing down on him. The scene ends with him running out of the church and throwing the shards of his yellow card into the air. At this point, Cohen uses pull back retraction to reveal that Valjean is standing on the edge of a cliff. This the furthest we get from Valjean's face in this scene, which symbolizes the fact that he has freed himself from his past and is ready to begin a new life for himself, making this important transition in the characterization of Valjean more powerful and visually compelling at the same time.

2. Daisy Visits Gatsby's Mansion for the First Time - The Great Gatsby

This scene is one of the pivotal points in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby,  for it is the first time in five years that Daisy and Jay have seen each other. I thought that cinematographer Simon Duggan and Luhrmann used the cinematography in order to cleverly recreate this scene in a powerful way. Gatsby has looked forward to the day that Daisy would come see all the wealth he has attained in order to make her happy and love him again for years at this point, so the fact that she is finally there is a dream come true for him. Thus, Luhrmann and Duggan make this scene very dream-like. Some of the cinematography appears to be shot hand held, making some of the shots shaky. This symbolizes the idea of how fragile this newfound reality is and the surreality of what is happening. They also use the shaky cinematography as a POV through the lens of the handheld camera Nick Carraway (Toby McGuire) uses to capture Gatsby and Daisy in a more realistic way. They also decided to use slow motion in some scenes. The slow motion they decided to use was subtle, again alluding to the dreamlike state Gatsby is in by having Daisy finally in his house. Duggan and Luhrmann also cleverly use the discovery method to not only show the beautiful chandelier in the great hall and how lavish Gatsby's mansion is, but to build up to the entrance of Daisy and how mesmerized she is by his wealth. In these ways, along with the echo-y and almost ghostly sounding recording of Lana Del Ray's "Young and Beautiful" help make this a dream-like scene as it would be seen through the eyes of Gatsby.

3. Run Forrest, Run! - Forrest Gump

This movie is one not only a classic but it's one of my all time favorites, as is this scene where the infamous phrase "Run Forrest, Run!" is first used. I loved the use of cinematography that director Robert Zemeckis and cinematographer Don Burgess used to help make this life-changing scene for Forrest so powerful. Impaired by his leg braces and mental state, Forrest is picked on in this scene by three boys on their bicycles. While Jenny tells him to run, Forrest struggles at first to try to get away from the boys. One of the things I love about the cinematography of this scene is it's use of depth. At first, Burgess uses depth to show that the boys are quickly catching up to Forrest. Then, Zemeckis uses slow motion as Jenny yells at Forrest and as he is running, his leg braces break into pieces and miraculously can use his legs properly and run away from the boys. The dramatic use of slow motion helps make this part of the scene almost dreamlike. From this point forward, Zemeckis and Burgess continue to use depth to show Forrest outrunning the boy's bicycles and also to show just how far he is able to run. They also use an expand dolly from an upward angle to show him quickly running across the field, which symbolizes the freedom being able to use his legs now gives him. In this way, Zemeckis and Burgess make this important scene in the movie more magical in a sense, which in my opinion makes the overall scene more powerful.

Blog Post #2: 5 Movie Scenes

I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for all of the musical/dance scenes... I'm a sucker for those. However, these five scenes have always stood out to me for various reasons, whether it be their storytelling or their use of cinematography.

1. "Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge

Let me just start out by saying I love this song, especially the tango rendition that Baz Luhrmann created. This scene is an intense scene where the prostitute Satine (Nicole Kidman) is eating dinner with The Duke (Richard Roxburgh), who thinks she is in love with him. However, she is really in love with Christian (Ewan McGregor), who is struggling at the thought of Satine having to be with someone else. The beginning of the scene focuses more on the tango dance scene, setting the mood for the scene. However, there are quick flashes throughout that show Satine dining with the Duke in the tower. The scene begins to build at 4:20, where Luhrmann uses an interesting extreme wide shot that shows the outside of the tent where the tango is taking place, and Christian leaving the tent, but a light from inside makes it unable to see him at all. Luhrmann continues to cut quickly between scenes of Christian walking away from the tent and the tango dancers, until you see Satine and the Duke on the balcony overlooking the tent (4:40). Luhrmann begins using a lot of symbolism. After a medium shot of Satine looking off the balcony with the Duke behind her, it cuts to a POV wide shot of Christian below her. He then cuts to a high angle wide shot of Christian looking up and seeing her and the Duke. You will notice that the lighting in Christian's shot is red, symbolizing anger and how much he is hurting. The shots are also unsteady, just like his world feels without Satine with him. The lighting in Satine's scenes is blue, symbolizing order and sadness, because she is trying to do the right thing, but she is upset about doing it. The scene truly builds however, whem Satine tells the Duke no, and he sees Christian looking up at them. At this point, the song builds to it's highest point, and Luhrmann shows the intensity of the situation based off of the Duke's anger. Throughout the rest of the song, Luhrmann uses quick transitions between the tango dancers, the duke attacking and attempting to rape Satine, and Christian's anger. Luhrmann and John O'Connell, the choreographer of Moulin Rouge, obviously worked very closely together so that the dancing symbolized what was happening in the tower when the Duke was attacking her, all the while using quick transitions and the build up of the song to create an intense and somewhat uncomfortable scene for the audience. The quick transitions also create confusion for the audience, which is why the final part of the scene is so impactful, because one second you see the main tango dancer collapse on the ground, the next you see the Duke lying on the ground passed out, which causes the audience to question what they just saw. Thus, all of these elements make this scene really stick out to me as one of my favorites (and you have to admit, look at the incredible choreography!!!!).

2. "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago

Another musical based movie, Chicago is one of my favorite movies of all time, and not just because of the musical and because it was originally created and choreographed by the incredible Bob Fosse. As the director, Rob Marshall did a fabulous job of adapting the musical to the big screen in a way that Bob Fosse would have been proud of. "Cell Block Tango" is one of the most famous and iconic numbers of the musical, so it seems only fitting that Marshall went above and beyond in his version of the 6 Merry Murderesses' tale. Since Rob Marshall directed and choreographed the movie, it is evident how the dancing influences the cinematography, which I really appreciate as a dancer. Marshall switches from the 6 telling their stories in their jail cells to the elaborate, stage like dance number, using angles and pans that aren't typical of a dance number. As the song progresses, not only does the dancing become more dramatic, but so does the cinematography. He uses different angles and switches back and forth from the main dancers to the background silhouette dancers in order to stay true to the theater style of the song, but to bring it to the life of film. Because of this, "Cell Block Tango" is one of my favorite scenes to watch.

3. "Party Scene" from The Great Gatsby

In another brilliant collaboration between director Baz Luhrmann and John O'Connell, the crazy, over the top parties that F. Scott Fitzgerald described in his novel come to life in The Great Gatsby. In the way that I believe only Luhrmann could do, these parties are so cinematographically beautiful while conveying the message of what becomes a main aspect of the movie, Jay Gatsby's elaborate house parties. Not only are the colors bright and vibrant, but there is always a lot going on in all of the shots, symbolizing how crowded his parties always were. Also, in some of the scenes, the camera was somewhat out of focus or the camera would spin around the people to show the effects the alcohol had on everyone at the party. Another thing I loved about this scene was Luhrmann's use of modern music to engage today's audience. While I was watching this scene for the first time, I couldn't help but dance in my seat (yes, I was that person) and wish that I could be there in all of the excitement, which is how everyone in the novel actually felt about Gatsby's parties. These elaborate scenes, along with all the scenes of the movie craftily created through the eyes of Luhrmann are the reason I loved Luhrmann's take on The Great Gatsby.

4. "On My Own" from Les Miserables

I'm going to be honest upfront and say that Tom Hooper's Les Miserables was the highlight of my year when it came out. As an avid lover of the musical, I was moved to tears throughout the entire movie. Literally. I sobbed through the entire three hours (it's pathetic, I know). But back to the scene... as my favorite song in the movie, I felt that Hooper did a great job bringing the song to life through Eponine (Samantha Barks). Not only is the scene shot beautifully in the rain, the scene is mainly close-ups of her singing, which brings all the attention to her emotion. I also liked how Hooper let her float from one side of the frame to the other, instead of keeping her stationary to one side and cutting to another angle. This keeps the scene continuous, which is important since it is such an emotional song in the movie. Another reason I love this scene is the fact that Hooper allowed for the actors to actually sing in the scenes rather than use voiceovers later in post production. This allowed for the actors, including Barks, to let their singing match the emotion they were feeling at the time of the movie. For these reasons, "On My Own" is definitely a top favorite scene of mine.

5.  "Catching Bin Laden Scene" from Zero Dark Thirty

I know this movie is very different from the other movie scenes I used in this blog, but it happens to be one of my favorite movies. To be honest, at the time I was dragged to this movie and I wasn't happy about it. However, after I got through the opening torture scene (which almost made me walk out of the theater... Seriously.), I was hooked. The one thing I loved about the final scene was how real it felt. I have never felt so emotionally invested in a movie until that moment. From cutting to the soldiers POV to close ups of Maya (Jessica Chastain) in the control room, I truly felt that the director of Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow, did a great job making the audience feel as if they were in the field or in the control room with them. By using close ups on the more intense scenes to convey emotion and wide shots to get a feel for what is going on within the house as the soldiers are attacking. Overall, the cinematography helped build up the biggest point of the movie, which shows how necessary finding and compiling the right shots can be in moving the plot forward and engaging the audience at the same time.