Characterization

The character I chose to review is Obi-Wan Kenobi, focusing on his character in Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. In this film, Kenobi appears wearing both his dark brown jedi robes or his tan tunic with brown pants, and his glorious blue lightsaber. It is apparent there is an air of respect that he commands from those around him, as he has become a jedi master, a man dedicated to preserving peace and prosperity among the people. He is trying his very hardest to help his apprentice Anakin stay away from the lull of the dark side, but has difficulty doing so. In the final scenes of the film, Obi Wan is forced to fight his former apprentice Anakin, who has turned to the dark side and slaughtered a large number of jedi and jedi in training. During this battle, Obi Wan shows deep moral and emotional conflict as he is deeply saddened by his apprentices choice to move to the dark side, and still believes he can try to save him, even though this is against the jedi way. His internal conflict is whether or not to kill Anakin, and he struggles with this decision through the entire fight, and the obvious external conflict is the battle itself and saving himself. Obi Wan cuts down his apprentice and leaves him near the lava to die. Before leaving, he proclaims that he loved Anakin, but this was the way things had to be, Anakin had to pay for his actions. After leaving, we see Obi Wan shed a tear for Anakin, demonstrating his continued compassion for the apprentice, someone he considered to be his brother. His flaw is his compassion, but it is a flaw only in the sense that it is holding him back from pushing past the emotional and physical blockade of Anakin, and killing Anakin. He has to overcome this challenge, as the deciding blow in the battle was struck by Obi Wan, but if he did not strike this blow as Anakin was jumping at him, Obi Wan himself would have been slain.

Step outline

Trevor Fisher
Mr. Bigue
IB Film HL 3th
27 September 2012

Step Outline for untitled movie

Scene

Dramatic intent

1. Opening titles shown, gunshot heard 2. Character shown walking alone, voice-over tells thoughts 3. Parents introduced as character ignores them, tone of resentment audible 4. Character by himself in a semi forested location. Someone notices him and walks over to see if he is alright. 5. pair begin to hangout. 3 location shots of friends having good time laughing together, show calendar detailing all the time the duo spent together 6. One day the duo can’t hangout, character upset and angry 7. Second day in a row without hanging out, physical attack then character runs away 8. Character follows friend and listens to conversation of how he thinks the main character is weird and really clingy. Character shows extreme anger. 9. Character wakes up the next day, ignores his parents and walks to place he always sees his friend. When his friend arrives, character makes monologue before killing friend 10. Note found on friend detailing apology for what he said. Decides to leave society.

Brings up questions right away about what is happening, gives hint of killing. Shows loneliness and demonstrates his inner thoughts of a desire to be a more confident person. Character blames parents for never being around, shows loneliness Shows character’s first friend, loneliness begins to disperse. Character bond shown through enjoyment of time together. Character’s dependence on friend demonstrated. Anger begins to grow Shows the escalation of his desperation to see friend. Shows how much he depends on his friend. Details his fright at returning to loneliness, doesn’t want to lose friend. Shows what desperation makes our character do. Anger demonstrates his feelings of betrayal thinking friend doesn’t want him anymore because chose to be with other people rather than him. Shows determination to achieve a goal. Shows self justification and feelings of depression. Feels like the only way to make his friend understand how much he means to him is through killing him. Shows the character’s shock, demonstrates how he was quick to judge and didn’t give friend a chance to defend himself. Teaches message that you need to always listen to other side and not jump to conclusions before talking to this other side.

Google Reader Article Response

Chase Jarvis posted "Emerging Talent — The Surreal Imagery of Martin Marcisovsky," showing a scene that is mainly up to interpretation. I really enjoyed the fact that the image could be interpreted differently depending upon your individuality, and I thought it was a dark mood with a desolate future for a lonely child, but she would stand out in this gray future due to her bright colors and personality, as she will challenge social barriers and norms. The individual aspect is great, as a friend or complete stranger could have an entirely different perspective on the image you are both looking at, displaying individualism in society.

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"When you find me" film review

This demonstrates a backstory of the film, at a location in the afterlife. The tree could be an allusion to either the 'world tree' or the tree that grew the apples of eden in paradise. It is apparent this is the afterlife because of the white color white, the color of purity. It seems to be a very pensive location as there does not seem to be anyone there, and there seems to be no end to the beautiful landscape.

This demonstrates a discovery for the Lizel of her mothers death, not necessarily journey to heaven. This creates a moment of a loss of innocence for the young protagonist. However, this revelation does not change her mindset and she continues on her journey to find her mother and go say goodbye. She is shown to be a strong dynamic character that acts older than she is and is an archetypal curious young child figure.

Character of Lizel's older sister shows her feelings of sadness and depression as she was unable to say goodbye to her mother, who died. She begins to feel anger and resentment and blames her little sister for preventing her from being able to say goodbye to her mother. Additionally, Lizel's older sister is unsure what to do, as her facial expression and body language show that she was very close to her mother and feels lost without her.

The goal is shown here as traveling in a spaceship to try and discover heaven. The exact location is not known, but it is surprising to find Lizel's mother there, welcoming and beckoning her to go and find her. Trying to contact the mother becomes the main goal of Lizel.





This scene has a depressing mood, as it shows the cemetery where the sisters' mother is buried. Lizel's sister is crying, while Lizel is determined to find her mother. The tombstones give a solemn mood, and the darkness gives an ominous mood that adds to an overall tone of depression.

This scene demonstrates the unknown as the sister had found her 'spaceship' but didn't know how to work it. She feels she needs to figure how to operate this machine so that she can find her mother and talk to her one final time. As an audience, we do not know what to expect and are unsure if she will be able to pilot this vehicle.


This scene explains the relationship between Lizel and her sister, showing how much it has diminished since their mom had died. They don't seem to talk very much and seem to be very disconnected from each other. Lizel's sister appears to be in disarray and still doesn't quite have her life in order, and she still seems to be mad at Lizel for preventing her from being able to say goodbye to her mom.

This shows the initial setting of the short film, but this setting shows Lizel laying in the grass, in the off white color. This setting seems to replicate the holiness and undisturbed nature of heaven. This setting is important because this is where Lizel is able to see her mom again, and give her a final goodbye.

 This scene shows the theme of time. Time is shown as we can see the sun is just rising, showing that Lizel's sister and father had been searching for her all night. This time is important because morning is seen as a time of new beginnings, and a brighter future ahead. In this case, Lizel goes on to live a happy life, but Lizel's sister emerges less than happy as she is down on her luck, and is stuck in the shadows of this shot. Additionally, time is important because it demonstrates the love and care her family had for her even when she ran away.

This scene shows an obstacle that stood in the way of Lizel. She had to get over this physical barrier of the fence, which she needed the help of her sister to do. This is important because it showed that if the sisters work together, they can get through a lot and push through hardships that they face. In addition, going over the fence allowed Lizel to cross into an area of danger and new discovery.

10 Themes of Storytelling

When discussing the artistry behind film and/or photography, there are considered to be 10 major themes associated with them: mood, goal, backstory, character, obstacle, relationship, setting, the unknown, time

Mood: conveys atmosphere, feelings or tone
This picture demonstrates a mood that is ominous and senses the danger to come. The color temperature leans towards the blue, cooler side of the spectrum and the shot is in deep focus. The most vibrant bolt of lightning is set off center at the lower right intersection point, while the tornado dominates the left half of the frame. The shot is angled upward to look at the storm and make it seem as a dangerous and superior force.

Goal: whatever the character is pursuing

This image demonstrates the butterfly, as it has reached maturity and completed its goal of being able to fly. This is a narrow focus lens, as is demonstrated by the extremely shallow focus, with the background completely blurred out. There is a slight graphic vector along the flowers that has a downward lateral direction. The butterfly itself is centered at the upper right intersection point and dominates a majority of the upper half of the frame. The shot is at a neutral level showing equality between the viewer and the butterfly, suggesting that the viewer can also achieve his/her goals if they try hard enough and give enough effort. 

Backstory: a history that promotes fuller understanding of the narrative.
This image is one that demonstrates a sense of hope as a flower is emerging in a field of ice, showing the will to survive. The flower bud is located at the middle to upper half of the frame, while the rest of the flower is in the middle to bottom half of the frame, making sure to have the important points at the intersection points. The lens type cannot be determined for sure, but is most likely a wide angle lens as the shot is in deep focus. The foreground is composed entirely of the flower, while the mid and backgrounds are the cold encasing ice. The camera is looking down to view the flower, showing the insignificance of just one flower, but also inspiring hope that one day there will be more flowers that arise from the extreme cold of the ice and survive. 

Character: can be anyone or anything
This shot is composed of a white horse running through an open field. The shot has the eyes of the horse aligned wonderfully along the upper right intersection point and the horse in general seems off centered. The shot does not however give a lot of noseroom or leadroom so it is difficult to determine where the horse is headed. The lens is most likely a narrow lens as in the foreground the horse is in clear focus while the background of the trees is slightly out of focus creating a shallow focus. This white horse is a symbol of purity as demonstrated by his white coat and mane.

Obstacle: anyone or anything in the character's way
This shot is composed of tornadoes lined up in a row along the horizon, demonstrating an ominous future for any in its path. There is a graphic vector that protrudes from the bottom left corner to the middle of the right side of the frame. For this shot, a wide angle lens is used to maintain the deep focus over a large expanse of land. The majority of the tornadoes are located in the left side of the frame, with the bottom most points of a majority of the tornadoes located around the bottom left intersection point. The camera is in a neutral position in relation to the object, suggesting that although the power of the tornadoes is noted, there is also a feeling that the character would be able to stick it out and survive through the obstacle.

Relationship: a relationship between anyone and anything
This is a heartwarming image of a man (assumed to be the father) holding a baby in his arms, demonstrating the strong bond that the two share. This shot could have been taken using either a narrow or wide lens as the shot is in deep focus, with the foreground being the baby and the background the chest of the man. The baby's eyes are located at around the upper right intersection point, and the head is slightly off centered towards the right. The camera is in a neutral position as it is highlighting the possible fragility of a young life, and demonstrates its need for protection.


Setting: any location or environment
This shot shows the barren landscape of the barren savannah, highlighted by the graphic vector of the ground and the wide open expanse behind it that reveals nothing but open space. This shot was taken using a wide angle lens, and is in deep focus. The tree is mainly in the lower and middle left areas of the frame, with the rocks going across the lower middle area of the frame. The majority of the shot is open space and sky, demonstrating limitless possibilities for the future of the character.




the Unknown: can be anything unexpected, a twist

This shot is of a busy street and is taken in some sort of tower at a high angle looking down upon everything else, making them seem insignificant, The shot has a nice use of rack focus where the foreground of the fence is blurred, but the street and buildings are in focus. There are graphic vectors aplenty due to the fence that act as their own points of intersection in the frame.

Time: represents a day or time in history
This shot is interesting because it shows the reflection of the sky over a graphic vector the cuts the shot in half and separates reality from reflection. This was taken with a wide angle lens and is in deep focus. The focus of the shot is unclear, but I think it is the bottom half which shows the reflection. The photographer is trying to grab the attention of the viewer and show the divide between reality and fiction, and show that time can change everything, with the reflection in the foreground, the divider in the midground, and the real sky in the background.