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The Writing and Directing of BEETLEJUICE Grimmy -- Tiffany Braddock Jason Moore’s Videography Class Homework Assignment #: 1 01/07/2008 The film BEETLEJUICE succeeds because it exhibits some of the seven qualities of good writing and directing. The film was directed by, my personal favorite director and producer of all time, Tim Burton and was produced by Michael Bender, Larry Wilson, and Richard Hashimoto. The music was written and orchestrated by the talented Danny Elfman, the story written by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson, and the screenplay was done by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren. Together with their leading actors, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton, created a spectacular film based upon a creepy ghoul who seeks to get free by a misunderstood young girl, while in the meantime creating much havoc and turmoil as possible! I will name at least six elements in both writing and directing of the film, three in each. The first is writing… The story starts off with a happy couple who had recently bought themselves a big house to live in, however, a family member, Jane, wants them to sale the house since she believes it’s too big for them. The two shoo her away, wanting to enjoy their vacation by remodeling the place, and then went out to get a brush at Adam’s shop in town for the Tongue Oil that Barbara had gotten them on their anniversary. Today was their anniversary, which upon their return to their home, they tragically end up in the bottom of a river. Needless to say, Adam shouldn’t have let Barbara drive since instead of hitting the breaks she turns the radically turns the wheel when a dog happens to cross their path. Bad, doggie! Bad! They then return back to their homes, only to later realize that they have passed away. Nice BIG EVENT, it really turned things and got the story going. The couple no longer live in happiness, now living in a constant tragedy as they strive to be rid of the unwelcome newcomers inside of their home. …Looks like Jane got her wish and sold the house right after they “kicked the bucket”. How very quaint of you, Jane. Anyway, they hire eventually decide to hire a HUMAN exorcist, BeetleJuice…just repeat his name three times…who has a wicked way of haunting bone-bags or fleshies. BeetleJuice comes across Lydia, the girl who had happened to befriend the ghosts of Adam and Barbara, who he has an eye out for. …To put it simply as possible… He wants out and the only way for him to be free of his imprisonment and not have to be called upon always is to get married, Lydia happens to be the one whom he chooses. He tricks her into setting him free when some aristocratic charlatan tries to exorcize poor Adam and Barbara into extinction; Lydia believed he was the only one who could help or go to. The girl pretty much wants to be dead just like the ghosts that haunt the place, not caring for her life amongst the living anymore. That built an attraction for BeetleJuice, liking her personality and pretty much liking her because she’s female, the lecher. Adam and Barbara try to stop the wedding before it’s too late, fighting through obstacles such as sandworms and anything that the bug eater would throw at them. After defeating him, in the end everyone, both the living and the dead lived happily amongst one another and shared the same home. 1) Conflict and resolution The conflict of the films was basically Adam and Barbara being dead and having someone live in their home. The resolution is that they’ve accepted what happened to them and that they accept the family living there as well with them. They’ve become very fond of Lydia. 2) Is the main character likable? The main character is the exact one which the movie title is named after. And yes, he is. He may be one of a sick and twisted dead dude, but he is very comical. His sense of humor is both very raunchy, cynical, and morbid. He practically insane in the membrane. He is also very lecherous, he loves females, pretty much almost as much as he loves eating any sort of bug. He is one heck of an evil guy, but you just can’t help but love his witty and morbid sense of humor! 3) Is the story entertaining, surprising, and original? Yes! It kept me entertained, there was always something going on, and the theme was original and great all on it’s own. It would make a fascinating book to read. 4) The ending works and feels right 5) The character learns, gains, or experiences something. Both are in accordance with one another, simply because in the end both the living and the dead live together. The main character basically doesn’t learn much at all. He’s still making mistakes, just like always! I love how Tim opened the film, how we view the landscape of a quaint and little town in a high angle unto the point of approaching our main focus that happens to be a big white old-fashioned wooden home, which had faded into an exact replica of the town that we‘ve just seen before we reach the replica of the house and the story then begins. The blending of those shots were an incredible editing technique, it was almost inconspicuous when the scene transitioned itself from real to fake! Thomas Ackerman, the director of photography, did wonders with bringing to life Tim’s ideas as they had superb continuity and lighting. So, that’s one and two… 1) Camera and camera shots 2) Lighting I really love the choice of colors that Tim and Thomas had used. The colors added great affects, especially when Barbara and Adam are in another spirit realm or plane, one which is not their home. There was both sharp and subtle lights, which blended in naturally with each scene. I love how the fire from the fireplace shines upon him with a golden glow, but from the back corner there is a white light which brings out the outline and edges of the characters. 3) Acting Barbara and Adam are a married couple who happened to own the house before they had died in a freak accident, they are played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. They’re characters play an important role, for it is their death and how they are doing with it that we are finally introduced to BeetleJuice, whom they happened to hire in order to get the living out of their home. The family that has moved in is played by Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder - Charles, Delia, and Lydia Deetz. All of the characters played a significant role and the actors and actresses played them well. One of my favorite parts is when we see Barbara and Adam walking into their home soaking wet, not even realizing that they were deceased yet until they had came across a book for the recently deceased and pretty much added up the clues of why strange things were happening; like why they couldn’t leave the house for one, less they get sent to Saturn and face the dreaded sandworms. Even though this film was indeed fictional since we don’t know much of the unknown, but the acting made it all so much real that we somehow could relate as to how it must be to be dead, that and to be haunted by the dead. The spirit realm and the living worlds collide, meeting face to face! 4) Set design 5) Make-up My comments on the two are thus… The make-up and set-design would be considered to be quite well done in accordance when it was made. However, since we know have CGI and many more editing techniques, you come to see the little errors, the flaws if you will, that are in the film. Tim made sure to do the best he could, for most of his work was practically flawless with no intentional errors that could be helped. The make-up back then has now greatly improves, especially since we have computer to pretty much help touch everything up. In some cases, like when Adam and Barbara are on Saturn, you could tell how the sand looks peculiar and that you could see little creases in the background that’s supposed to be the sky. They are not something that usually people would notice first hand, no, it’s more of a double to triple view of the film. 6) Sound effects and music Elfman outdid himself with the soundtrack! The music matches eloquently with the film. The music itself is so much quite enjoyable, that one could simply watch the film for that purpose on it’s own. Of course, I could just be speaking for myself hear, but then again The BeetleJuice Theme is indeed quite popular and can be found or heard of all over the web. The sound was crisp, strong, and naturally good, in short it sounded real. I like how they played the first Jamaican song we hear in the film, which they had played while shooting instead of adding it on when time for editing. Over all, it is a highly enjoyable, fun, and entertaining film!
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Handsome Man
Grimmy
Tiffany Braddock
Mr. Vargas’s Theory of Film and Video Class
12/12/2007
The last movie we saw, Handsome Man (I believe that’s the title, or something like that) is a Danish film about a man who had fell in love with a woman. …However, she is not just any woman. No, was once the girl who was…fat…and happened to be made fun of, particularly by gang and him when they were in high school. Of course, Lars, the main character, is surprised by her change, let alone by coming across her once again in his life. Basically, this a “Boy gets Girl” story, though it isn’t your usual cliché, it’s actually quite charming. Lars is a man looking for work, same goes for his future love when they both arrive at a employment building. She turns out getting a job as a teacher of language (teaches foreigners to speak proper Danish), while he has troubles trying to find employment at a printer’s shop all because his files had gotten mixed up with another man’s named “El Hassan”. Lars is now sent to take Danish classes, which the same woman happens to be teaching, though he is under disguise because he doesn’t want her or anyone to know he’s being forced to take these. Through this disguise, he reveals his real personality, which she happens to fall in love with, and doesn’t know that Lar’s is “El Hassan”. Not wanting to give it all way, I will keep my mouth shut the remainder of the story. I will, however, point out a few of the denotative and connotative symbolisms of the film.
In the beginning scene, we see that he is all alone, has no one and is in the bathroom getting ready to go somewhere, the mirror is steamed up. We can tell by him alone and by his demeanor that he is lonely. Looking at the colors of the bathroom, they are red. Red has to be a color of passion, love, and also a color that somehow symbolizes Lar’s for you see him wearing also a red hat when he tries to hide the fact that he died his hair a very dark brown (his real hair color is blonde). There’s only one toothbrush in the cup, but when he gets the girl and we know that they are both in the bathroom together, there’s another toothbrush with his; this symbolizes that he is no longer alone. As for the foggy mirror, I believe it’s him looking as his own reflection, at his loveless state… Perhaps the steamed up mirror symbolizes harmony, like a dream-like happy state of mind, for in the end of the movie, the mirror isn’t wiped at all and remains foggy. Pretty much the bathroom itself symbolizes love, all emotional, mental, and physical states. The steam, the water…reminds of the Broadway song called “Steam Heat”, which is a love song.
More great symbolisms of the film, have to be during the times he is “El Hassan” and when he is Lars trying to talk the girl into going out with him (funny this is, she believes he’s a jerk and even accused him of stealing a job from someone else worthy, someone whom just happens to be him in disguise). Lars wears vibrant colors, let’s say, blue and red, while “El Hassan” wears more neutrals. When he pretends to be “El Hassan”, he dies his hair dark and he wears a fake mustache (which keeps coming off in the worst of times). When he is Lars, he pretty much tries to cover his hair with the red hat of his. “El Hassan” is down to earth, which is how Lars really is, whom the girl of his dreams really loves. She realizes this in the end, that she loved Lars all along but tried to fight it.
Lars’s symbolisms:
Red - A denotative symbolism of himself, helps define his character.
The Red Hat - It’s himself trying to cover over something he doesn’t want seen, a denotative symbol.
The toothbrush - Connotative symbolism.
Brighter, more vibrant colors - His personality.
He appears to be your modern every day fellow, and someone who the girl probably wouldn’t be fond over because he doesn’t seem to appear unique in any way.
“El Hassan” Symbolisms:
His dark hair and mustache - His physical disguise, denotative symbols.
Browns - Suits his down to earth personality.
He wears darker colors, which makes him more mysterious and a deeper person.
Also, his clothes define that he’s unique, which catches the lady’s eyes.
The Cell Phone is his connection to both worlds, both “El Hassan” and Lar’s.
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CHILI CON CARNIE
GRIMMY
Tiffany Braddock
Mr. Vargas’s Film Theory Class
12/05/2007
Chili Con Carnie is a short film about a man who once didn’t know what women want, but going through a mental processes he tries to figure it out and win back the girl he had lost. Chili Con Carnie is a unique story that not only tells it from the audience perspective, but as well through Peter’s perspective as well as we venture into his mind, seeing his worst fears what he’s going through after the break-up. The place is known as Chili Con Carnie, which is much like prison yet considered a safe-haven for some, which serves nothing but Chili Con Carnie along side with Chili Con Carnie. Chili Con Carnie must symbolize the pride that most people take in when they have been hurt, it’s like a false sense of comfort, eat the shit, grin and bear it, you don’t need anything else! The prison itself must symbolize some sort of hell, which most have grown so accustomed to that it’s now the norm, and it’s considered the best place to be. Basically, the whole thing has to do with heart break. In this, I’ve been assigned to point out continuity and match cuts from the film.
Continuity is remarkably strong in this film and a lot of times it matches and flows along with the match cuts of the scenes. Some of the best continuity scenes have to have been taken while he was in Chili Con Carnie and when he was at his X-girlfriend’s apartment.
In scene one, as for the introduction, we see a fish in an aquarium, matching and symbolizing his X-girlfriend as she finally enters into view, it is believed that, that scene is from her point of view, especially when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her while he was in a hot tub with another girl and some boys. It turns out that this was a dream, too, as she now awake, getting ready for work, and telling her boyfriend that it’s over, just leave! The continuity of the scene is very good, I like how Peter’s picture was once upside down and the changed to being right side up!
In another scene, the last, which I believe is best, is when Peter tries to talk her AGAIN into being with him, to give him another chance. The two get into a fight as the one’s in prison watch over them, laughing, and cheering…until-- An instant match cut and continuity combined has his X-girlfriend and him sent both into Chili Con Carnie, where she finally gets to see first hand of what he’s going through, plus a added bonus, she sees how every man in there is so afraid to look at her! So, it comes out that Peter, though not really a good man of words, was innocent all along, his girlfriend dumped him on suspicions!
Another good scene was when Peter was looking through the spy-hole, which you cannot from the outside, but he could, and he was seeing something that is really rated R in old films, almost NC-17. Peter believed that his X was so moving on that she already was “doing it” with other men, to make it worse, one of the neighbors clarified it for him that she was. Turns out…she wasn’t! It was all in his head! Excellent match cuts and continuity.
I also enjoyed it very much when he was in Chili Con Carnie, not only were the characters real…characters, but also because the match cuts and continuity were great! I love it when he makes a mistake and is instantly thrown into solitary confinement. Then in another fail attempt, when he tries to propose to her, he’s in a real bloody mess and the guys at Chili Con Carnie are trying to remove the ring from his bleeding chest, his cartilage and bones exposed!
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YEAR 2000
Grimmy
Tiffany Braddock
Vargas’s Video and Film Theory Class
11/28/07
The 60s cinema about the year 2000 is truly a great work of art, which I believe may be over looked by viewers who do not appreciate such and fail to see it’s true beauty. It took you from the beginning of man in his primitive form and skips to the future where he has become a highly evolved creature. Chocked full of symbolism, it is a very deep movie destined for the philosophical minds of this world. The beginning theme music in the movie is well known and awarded for being one the best sci-fi themes and has been included on many records, while the movie itself has clearly been awarded for it’s greatness, especially with how it was so technically advanced during the time it was created. However, what I am going to point out the most are shadowing, lining, and rule of thirds. This movie is a great example for all three.
Shadowing. For proper shadowing, you must therefore have good lighting. It is not quite clear for me if they used an actual set or a location, but whichever the way it still had magnificent lighting and shadowing affects. Especially on horizontal and landscape scenes, the light was positive as the camera looked straight on showing the shadows created by the plants and rocks as they morning sun shined down upon the earth. The best lighting scene of them all has to be when the sun, earth, and moon were perfectly aligned, the shadows were very deep while the light was very warming. The lighting even looked great at night, even when inside the cave there was still proper shadowing and lighting happening.
Lining. I have to say, again, the best scene for this has to be when the sun, earth, and moon were symmetrically aligned. Another great scene was how the black slate was aligned ever so perfectly! Heck, the black slate was a perfect rectangle, flawless in every aspect! No wonder why the apes were so intrigued by it, though clearly the slate was only symbolism. The landscape was perfectly lined as well. Even the bone and pen were perfectly aligned with one another as the bone was thrown up into the air, the pen slowly floating back down in it’s place, scenes instantly switched as we switch time and era. Nothing seemed out of order, having a positive mixture of both asymmetry and symmetry. I love how the moon and the slate were perfectly aligned, the camera point upward (high angle). It gave the feel of something overpowering, like something controlled and predestined with time and space.
…I could go on forever about the symbolism in this film, but then I would be caught off topic…
The sweet spots were the best in this film! Everything seemed to be caught in them! It was like WHAM BAM, right there in every shot! The best was how the both tools, the bone and the pen from the future were constantly in them. Nothing was out of a sweet spot, that’s all I can say. That and it goes along perfectly well with lining, being that it helps create it.
Every scene was perfectly well thought out, of which I could see of it. It strikes me in a very interesting way… I would love to see it for all it’s grandeur, but without properly studying the masterpiece, I cannot properly give even a fairly good report.
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