Script Analysis

1. How does the film start at a dramatic moment in the middle of the drama?

This film starts in the middle of the drama because the first scene shows a foreboding conversation between a girlfriend and boyfriend about a drug deal where the boyfriend is using the girl friend to pay off his debt, but she does not know it. Instead, she is trusting and loving of him, while he is manipulative and mistreating her. This phone call throws the viewer right into the conflict, for it starts right before the event with the drug dealer taking the girl and the girl finding out that her boyfriend has betrayed her. All the background needed is in this quick, tense phone call.

2. What terrific scene will open, and what memorable scene will end the film?

The scene with the phone call with the girl friend nervous about giving the bag to the dealer and the boyfriend feigning true concern is the first scene. This is supposed to create some mystery, for they do not say exactly what is going on with the bag, and it shows a role not played well; isn't John supposed to be a caring boyfriend? Then why does he not seem to committed to coming to his girlfriend's aid?

At the end of the film, we plan to have the the boyfriend start coming to the scene of the crime, where his girlfriend will be taken away, but then decide to turn around right around the corner away from the scene just as his girlfriend is being forced into a car, within screaming distance. This is supposed to be very dramatic because it portrays a strong sense of betrayal and entrapment, as well as a very flawed character who is not necessarily completely evil, but not that good either. He is a nuanced character.

3. What’s my character’s attitude and position in the events?

The main character John is more than an uncaring boyfriend. From the phone call, you can tell he throws around her as if she is worth very little, even though she is very attached to him. He is not supposed to normally be as bad as selling his girlfriend to pay off his debt, but the circumstances of his own well being caused him to decide to use his girlfriend as payment, what ever that implied payment is. He is selfish, but he was hesitant to hurt his girlfriend that way, but he knows that he would probably get killed if he did not pay it, or at least beat up really badly. As John was going to save his girlfriend, he was in conflict between her safety and his, and he was thinking they could both get hurt anyways, but then he felt that he couldn't do something that bad. As he suddenly stops and thinks out loud for a minute, he decides to be selfish, to not even try, showing he is cowardly and cold hearted.

4. How do I introduce my character? If my character isn’t central to the action, what do they witness that is?

The character John is introduced by the short phone call and then what he does instead of saving his girlfriend, which is just hanging around, maybe showing his face in conflict over what to do. He never actually directly involved in the main scene, but he did have control over what happened. The girlfriend is introduced in the phone call as a caring character who is easily manipulated and sort of clueless about her boyfriend's real motive. Also, her movements during the call show insecurity to show that she may be doubting her boyfriends a bit, even from the beginning. She is central to the action, because she is affected by John's actions, and changes because of them. She becomes bitter and angry because of this.

5. How can I help the audience discover what is happening, rather than just telling them everything?

We are going to show the character's feelings by the expressions on their faces instead of saying them out loud. An example of this is when John will feel hesitant on his bed by having a blank look, then frowning and getting out of his bed and out the door, showing that he is going to check up on his girl friend, or at least attempt to. Also, we will never say what is in the bag, but it will be implied that the bag has drugs or money, just by the way that the bag is regarded and the situation that it is in. The phone call will be too cryptic to tell what it is. Also, we will imply that the girl will be sexually harassed by her struggling and the car driving off, as well as John's short line at the end that is tentatively "She'll get over it" (still might need to change that, but it will probably be something like that, or not at all).

6. How can I reduce things to a minimum, but still have an impact?

We have to focus on keeping the dialogue to a minimum, because we want to keep it cryptic most of the time, for that is a film noir characteristic and it will let the film show what is happening, then to the point when something needs to be said. Also, there does not need to be a lot of back ground; the phone call is sufficient background; details can be shown later. We just needed to say that the girl is in a situation where she is handing a bag over, and her boyfriend is feigning caring about the situation. Also, we just need to show the boy friend leaving his room, and then after the quick, sparsely worded scene where the dealer tells the girl to give him the bag and to come with him and that her boyfriend betrayed her, John arriving near the scene, then turning back, no or little words. After this, the car drives off. This is quick and with few words and only two location changes, so that there will be a conflict, and that it will be quickly solved, with little background and worded explanations. The audience can fill in the gaps for themselves, making the film more raw, like film noir, but still with the requirements of a full story.

Pitch and Treatment Steps I-IV

I.Title and Producer: "Lost Cause" by Jasmine Elmiari
II. Genre: Neo-Noir
III.Log Line: A student trying to improve his life meets an unfair demise
IV.General Flow: Treatment: "Lost Cause"
Most of the class is goofing off, throwing paper airplanes and texting. An eighteen year old boy is avidly working on his assignment. This boy is wearing skinny pants, a black hoodie, and an Avenged Sevenfold shirt. The bell rings and the boy hands his work to the teacher, who looks questioningly at the boy. The boy walks out with his similarly dressed friends.

His friend, "Drake", tells him about his latest dealings with a drug dealer as they walk away from school through the glass doors. He say hasn't paid him back yet, but he probably won't get in too much trouble. Drake asks the boy if he'd like to go with him to get some weed later. The boy drops his skateboard to the ground suddenly, looks Drake intensely in the eye and says "Look man, I don't do that anymore". The boy gets on his skateboard and starts skating off. Drake yells from behind him "Look, I know that your still bitter about that, but you gotta move on!" as he jumps on his skateboard and follows after him.

Later that night, the boy gets a call from a cheerful sounding girl named Mel. They talk about random things while the boy awkwardly walks around his bed room. Mel comments that the boy has gotten a lot better at school, and that she really likes this side of him. Time seems to stop for a little bit as the boy works up the courage to ask Mel to the school dance. Mel seems to pause forever, but in a second she says, "Of course!" The boy shows utter happiness, and awkwardly ends the conversation and walks away.

A week later, as the boy is preparing for homecoming by adjusting his tie and combing his hair, his cell phone ring in the corner of the room. As he goes to pick it up, he accidentally knocks over a glass and breaks it. Visibly bothered, the boy picks up the phone, and Drake desperately tells him that he needs him to come to the bleachers at school with $50. The boy gets really angry and hangs up on him. The boy flops onto his bed and texts Drake, "I'll be there in 10 minutes. Don't ask me to do your crap again."

The boy drives up to the bleachers in a remote part of the school at dusk to find the familiar face of the drug dealer and Drake. The dealer smiles and comments on how the boys brother got beat up badly by the dealer when he did not pay. The boy physically winces in pain and throws the money at the dealer. The dealer catches the money and says that its not enough. The boy says forcefully that there's $50. The dealer smiles cynically and shoves the boy, saying "Add interest; $100." Drake interjects, saying no and starts fighting. Some students early for the dance gather to watch the fight, and start cheering. The boy tries to break up the fight as distant dance music plays in the background, but the dealer breaks away and pulls out a gun. Drake looks on as we hear a shot and the screen goes black. Sirens blare as the boy's voice says "Maybe I was always a lost cause."

Chinatown Presentation Reflection

Positives:

Our presentation was very strong in accenting how each example we used was artistically shot in order to add to the essential moody and raw atmosphere in each scene. I think that this was important for our topic of textured images for in film the images and the action/dialogue are inseparably connected to each other. Our examples were normally parts of integral scenes in the film that were exemplary of the mood of the film and where there was good use of textured images, but not always. We used a lot of filmic terms applied them in detail to our choice of screenshots. They were not always the most obvious ones like perspective (which Alejandro nicely expanded on with power relationships), but also one source lighting and color values. Also, I think that it was organized reasonably well.

Improvements:

Our focus question could have been worded more eloquently, as well as more specifically. It covered what we meant to say, but it could have been smoother. We connected back to film noir by saying what filmic techniques were signature of film noir and a bit on how Chinatown may have went against some noir techniques because of the time period it was made in, but we could have improved this by connecting the images and the dialogue back to film noir a bit more. I think we understood the topic well, but we might have gone off on some tangents. Also, it may have been an improvement if we had connected our slides in a more unified fashion; you could easily tell that each person did a different slide. The presentation itself could have been improved if we had practiced it more together, but it was still congruous.

Film Noir and Chinatown Overall:

Chinatown is not technically a noir film of the 1940 and such, but it still has the same type of moody and raw atmosphere that many movies would not dare to portray in the 1940s nor the 1970s, when Chinatown was made. This film genre is very interesting to many people because it is not afraid to show the harsh realities of the world, and it does not "sugar coat" the truth and condition the film into a happy ending. Film noir has many characteristics that are signature to it because of its entirely different atmosphere from most other films. It likes to use images that are rough, dark and confusing; these images connect to the dominant themes of entrapment, isolation, fragility and betrayal. Stylized dialogue is used to show the character's strengths and weaknesses, as well as to create an air of cynicism and mystery. The characters of film noir are like real humans who get hurt, make mistakes and cannot always obtain a "happy ending". This style of film can connect to us today similar to the way it used to connect to people in World War II and the Cold War, for our world is in a state of turmoil over events in the Middle East, the economy and much more.

Chinatown Story Analysis

Chinatown is a movie about a private eye named Jake Gittes who is brought into a conspiracy involving a drought, a death, a dam, and family intrigue. It has an intriguing, complicated plot with a depressing ending, but that is a main characteristic of film noir.

There is no real narrator, for the story tells itself. The implied narrator is Gittes, for the story follows his actions and where he goes and what he knows.

The spectators add to the atmosphere of not being able to control all of the corrupt and horrible things around them; this movie creates a feeling of not being able to do anything to make the world better, or at least not enough. For example, the valet doesn't know what to do when Gittes and Evelyn are fighting over whether or not to "talk" more.

We fill in some of that gaps such as how Gittes comes to his conclusions while on the case and why he is going there, especially with the scene in the library; it took me a little while to figure why he was there. Also, it is implied that Gittes and Evelyn sleep together, as well as when Evelyn is shot and horn blows.

The time is presented chronologically; everything is in order. There really isn't any flourishes on the time order. It is probably classical, for it cuts to the parts that the director wants us to see, but is still in chronological order.

The genre is neo-film noir, for it is a color film made after the 1950s that has elements of film noir. It is a very dark, gritty movie at times; there is no "sugar-coating" the truth, like original film noir. It uses color to emphasize the light and dark, similar to film noir.

This movie says that at the time people were probably wary of government conspiracies, even within their own government.

The narrative tells of basic human traits such as greed, desire, and idealism. Many people try to force their ideals on other people, but they cannot change the way the entire world is. Gittes was a man with flaws and wished that the world had a better sense of right and wrong, but in the end the entire world is like Chinatown in his view: you cannot do anything.

"The Black Button" Story Analysis

"The Black Button" is a seven minute film about a man who is brought into a strange room with no way out. He is confronted with a heavy choice: to kill someone and take $10,000 or leave and go back to where he was with no money.

This story has no narrator; it really tells itself as a dialogue between a confused man, Mr. Robinson and a seemingly knowledgeable man.

I think that the more knowledgeable man, the one "in charge" is the the "narrator" of these stories, for he guides the other man, pressures him, and tells him the truth at the end. The knowledgeable one is the one with all of the knowledge and power in this film, so it would make sense that he is also guiding the plot to an extent.

There are no spectators, which puts more pressure on Mr. Robinson, for it is his choice alone and the pressure is building on him. The loneliness emphasizes how much of a personal decision Mr. Robinson is making, telling much about his character. Also, it means no one is judging him, so they cannot influence his decision.

We provide the information that Mr. Robinson is probably a desperate man who is having a tough time supporting himself and his family. Also, we think that Mr. Robinson is probably in a mystical place, judging by his surprise at being in that white room, making us wonder what will happen.

Time is mostly chronological, but it does have one flashback. The film throws the audience into a strange position that is obviously unfamiliar to Mr. Robinson, and then recounts how he got into that position at the end of the film when the climax is reached. I thought that rearrangement was really effective, because it draws the audience into the story at the beginning, and then brings in a semi surprising twist to the whole story. I say semi because the surreal setting alludes to some kind of strange event happening to make Mr. Robinson be in such a setting. Time seems to be presented in a classic way, but it might be slightly formalistic.

The genre is probably psychological, for it studies the base instincts and ambitions of human beings, while also appealing to the human conscience and faith. This one highlights the conflict between desperation and conscience. The genre evolves from psychological to also an allegory of following your conscience and avoiding avarice.

The social context is a growing amount of consumerism that may create greed, but this could be an important lesson in any time period. Also, the faith mentioned in this film could be trying to reinforce the strength of faith in a time with mainstream atheism and agnosticism.

This narrative shows the universal human traits of having a conscience, desperation, greed, and regret despite being in a mystical/surreal environment.

Overall, a classic story of conscience vs. desperation with horrible consequences.