1. The location of the set is very important to this particular movie. The beginning of the movie starts off by basically telling us how worthless Spacey's character, Lester is. Right after they show the little video clip of Jane telling Ricky (facetiously) that she wants somebody to put her father "out of his misery." The film then cuts to the opening credits, with Lester saying that he is a loser for reason 1, 2 and so forth. When this is happening, the first visual imprint, directly following Jane's monologue, is an overhead shot of Lester's neighborhood. It is vast and very much uniform throughout. This shows that he is truly a person who is lost among other individuals, and that he really doesn't matter, as his wife and daughter don't deny throughout the entire film.
2. The reason that the majority of the movie is shot at the Burnham residence is to show that they appear to be the same as everybody else. A family that eats together stays together, isn't that how the old mantra goes? Well thats not the case with this family. They do all the things right, but they seemingly hate each other. It shows that no matter how 'normal' some people may appear, they can be just as messed up as anybody else. The house is a symbol, a veil, over the eyes of society. Much like a veil, the house doesn't quite cover everything up. Individuals on the outside know that something just isn't quite right with this family, but it hides most of their insecurities and harmful tendencies. Carolyn is so focused on appearing successful, but that is not who she is.
3. The costumes are much like the house, they show that everyday suburbia is not what it always seems. Lester very clearly wears what his wife wants him to. He's not happy wearing a sweater vest. If it were up to him, he'd pull a George Costanza and be draped in velvet all day, working out and smoking grass. Jane is a cheerleader, but her clothing shows that she is anything but the stereotypical airhead cheerleader. She wears grandma sweater type clothes, very much something that a poetry student would wear. Her clothes say that she doesn't care what anybody thinks. Carolyn dresses to impress, always trying to put out the image of success.
4. The lighting is not very much one way or the other. During the fantasy sequences, the colors are very sharp and pronounced, but there is never any real sharp lighting.
5. He is showing that this is everyday life that is happening in the film. It is not too bright as to create an illusional world, and it's not too soft, which also makes the viewer feel like he isn't actually there in the action. Keeping the lighting the way that the director does will keep the viewer feeling like everything is real, and helps them to become more engrossed in the film.
6. The color red was by far the most prominent. As was mentioned in the article we were assigned, it was the color of the roses that were being cut at the beginning of the film, the color of the Burnham's front door, and they also incorporated blood onto a white wall at the end of the film. My first instict as to the meaning of the red was that it showed unreachable desires. Red roses are a sign of perfection. Carolyn wanted success more than anything, but she simply could not reach it. The red door as Carolyn came home at the end of the movie, planning to shoot Lester, then coming in to see his red blood all over the wall, along with a pool of blood, showing that she would not be able to follow through with her "plans" because somebody else took care of it. Finally, all of Lester's fantasies involved the red rose pedals with Angela, Jane's friend. She was unreachable to him (until the end of the film), and she was always covered with the ever-vibrant red rose pedals.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
1. The movie taking place at the chocolate factory is obviously essential, as it is what the movie is based upon. There are so many things in the film that take place in the factory that add to the mystery that the audience is lost in. The ferry that they ride on through the river of chocolate, the machine that shrinks things and of course the mysterious drink that makes them float.
2. This film is shot on this location because the entire story is based around the location and the events that take place there. All of the colors and singing set up such a happy mood to a movie that is deep and unexpected. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team up to remake this classic, and in turn make it even darker than the original. It is a masterpiece however, because the average viewer, such as children (whom this film is made for) wouldn't understand the depth of this film, and of its director. He makes the factory look like such an incredibly happy place, just to disguise that Wonka is actually a bit of a maniac.
3. The lighting is very bright, as all of the colors are extremely vibrant and cheerful. The ferry ride, much like the ferry ride from the original, is dark and terrifying. This lifts the curtain up a little and shows the audience that dark side of the Chocolate Factory, as well as the dark side of Burton.
4. The lighting is very appropriate. As I said, it displays as a very happy and upbeat Wonderland, and at times turns out to be a factory that will take you in forever if you do not obey the strict- as some would say- rules.
5. By the style of lighting, Burton is very clearly showing that the factory presents a facade that makes the eye believe that anything goes, but in reality they are very much in the real world, even though it doesn't seem like it. Even though there are many things around us that we want- stealing, lust, anything- we must remain strong and gain character from delaying gratification.
6. There are no colors which stand out more than others, but simply a full spectrum of colors during the happier moments (which there are many) of the film. Burton does this to show that even after catastrophic disasters such as losing a child in a pool of chocolate, we can still go on and be "happy" with bright colors, candy, and singing.
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