Avatar is an award winning, science fiction and fantasy film directed by James Cameron. It is officially the highest grossing film of all time, turning over more than $2 billion, and was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, winning three, including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. It's Premiered in London on the 10th December 2009, and went on to break many box-office records. Starring in Avatar is Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver.
Avatar Film Promotion Poster - www.imdb.com
The film is set in the near future of the year 2154, when humans have used up all of the Earth's resources, and are testing out planets in the galaxies that have adequate living conditions. A company named Resources Development Administration (RDA) mine a habitable moon, Pandora, which is densely covered in forest and is the home of the Na'vi. The Na'vi are humanoid characters, much taller than the average human, with cat-like features and blue skin. They worship their goddess mother Eywa, who lives in all living things, it's heart found at the tree of Eywa. The atmosphere on Pandora is severely poisonous to humans, so to explore the moon, RDA create Na'vi human hybrids, using an Avatar system. The humans enclose themselves inside a pod, and wake up in the body of their own genetically matched Na'vi, who are created in the labs of RDA. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is a disabled ex-marine, who is called in to become an avatar after his scientist brother passed away. He finds comfort in becoming his Na'vi, and slowly realises that the life he lives in his Avatar body is, although much more dangerous, better. He becomes part of the Na'vi community, falling in love with the leader's daughter, Neytiri. Jake is sent in initially to convince the Na'vi to move away from the Tree of Souls, as RDA want to mine the area. Jake cannot do this to Neytiri, and RDA find out that Jake has attacked a few of the company's bulldozers, in an effort to stop the mine from happening. It becomes a war over the area, and after the tree is attacked from all angles with missiles, Jake and Neytiri call upon all of Mother Nature's forces, to help move on RDA and their soldiers.
Cameron began writing up Avatar in 1994, for it to be released in 1998 after his blockbuster 'Titanic' in 1997, but came to realise that the technology was not suitable at the time, and had to be worked on to deliver his envisions of the film. The special effects used in the film are of such a high standard which led the film to become a blockbuster. James Cameron went into tremendous detail when creating the film, such as working alongside a linguist, Dr. Paul Frommer, who worked on creating the 1000 word language for the Na'vi. The language take certain elements of Amharic Ethiopian and New Zealand Maori.
Sully and Eywa - overmental.com
Performance Capture technology was used to create the characters of the Na'vi, who were based on real actors. This has been used in other animated films, such as 'The Polar Express' and 'A Christmas Carol'. For this to work, the actors fashioned tight fitting body-suits and helmets, donned with stripes and spot markers, so the camera could pick up the movement. On their faces, they would have painted green spots, which picked up the more subtle movements of the actors facial expressions. This was greatly received, leaving people in awe of the animation, and how life-like the characters are. Any of the acting that included the Na'vi, were filmed in a place dubbed 'the volume', which was an area that was surrounded by 120 digital cameras, which would then process through the computers and giving the cast their characters on screen. Computer generated images are used thoroughly throughout the film industry, but Cameron had managed to push the bar so high with the quality of the animation in Avatar, leading it to win Best Special Effects and Cinematograpy at the Academy Awards. The advance in technology is so vast, for something that would have been deemed impossible a decade ago.
Sully connecting with Eywa - movieweb.com
There are many themes that run constantly throughout Avatar, such as political themes, religious themes and Social and Cultural themes. The film can be seen in many ways, both positive and negative. On the outside, the film is a love story, but when you delve deeper and study it, there are many more underlying references. For example, the film can be seen as Anti-American. Avatar follows American people, driving out the indigenous for their selfish needs, which could be Cameron referencing to how America bombarded Iraq for their oil, driving out their own people, just like RDA bombard the Na'vi for mineral. Although Cameron has argued that this is definitely not the case, the film has so many elements that it could reflect many historic events. In terms of religion, the film does pose the question as to how faith should be governed, a hierarch system or mutual? Cameron has said that he "tried to make a film that would touch people's spirituality across the broad spectrum." (Porie, Koel (March 20, 2010). "SRK means India for Cameron". The Times of India. Retrieved March 20, 2010.) There is no doubt that the film targets the belief in religion, and therefore the respect people have for other people's beliefs. The Na'vi are very heavily connected spiritually to their natural environment and have respect for the lifeforms around them. They pray before killing an animal, and bless it after it is dead, and thank Eywa for giving it to them. Spirituality is to me the main theme, as the film is a spiritual journey for Jake. By the end of the film, he realises what he values most, which is completely different to what he valued most at the beginning of the film.
Neytiri and Sully during training - movieweb.com
Female influence is the motif within the film, without it, Jake would not have been able to complete his mission, and win the war. In many movies, women can be seen as both good and evil, but in Avatar there is no ambiguity. All of the female characters are strong, positive people and do not carry out any negative actions. None of their actions are a negative force against Jake, only to motivate him and push him further, therefore leading him to develop through the film. Eywa, is seen as a female presence, and although we do not see her, she is referenced by Neytiri as 'her'. She nurtures the Na'vi, teaching them, providing them, and taking them to a place of rest after they have passed. She is selfless, even trying to treat Grace and Jake whilst they were both dying as humans. The second most important female is Neytiri, who supports Jake through the film, as he would not have been able to complete it without him. She is compassionate, and trusting, and goes out of her way to teach Jake the way of the Na'vi. There is roughly 8 times in the film where Neytiri puts her life on the line to save Jake's, and 7 others where another female character does the same for him. She is seen as a protector, a strong, empowered woman. The males in the film are mostly predominantly negative, although not all of them are. For example, when Jake is attempting to bond with an Ikran, the other male competitors jeer and laugh at Jake, whilst Neytiri encourages him to succeed. Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at’ite
Neytiri -www.lachiacchiera.it
Neytiri is a part of the Omaticaya clan, a large group of Na'vi, who live in the tree of souls. She is the second-born daughter and princess of the leaders of the Omaticaya, Eytukan and Mo'at. When we are first introduced to her, she is saving Jake from a pack of Viperwolves. Instead of shooting him with the bow, she sacrifices the life of the animals, which in her way of life is very hard to do. When the attack stops, the vioerwolves are left whimpering as they lay dying, and Neytiri goes round one by one, blessing them and putting them out of our misery. We can immediately see that Neytiri is a sensitive character, but also very strong, and knowledgeable. She takes Jake to the tree, where her parents designate her to be his teacher. She is initially very negative about this, believing Jake to be naive and unteachable. We can tell that she is holding back and not showing the real her at this point, during scenes where the two are together and she awkwardly pulls away from him, and stops eye contact. Towards the middle of the film, her teaching is in full flow, and the audience are allowed to see into her life. She tells Jake of her history, how she watched her sister murdered by the humans in an attach on Grace's school. This sensitive side allows the viewer to see why she is so untrusting of the humans. Towards the end of the film, Neytiri is the dominant female character, and her development shows us that she is capable of being a leader.
"You're like a baby, making noise, don't know what to do."
"I was afraid, Jake, for my people. I am not anymore."
These two quotes are taken from the beginning and the end of the film, showing her drastic change in character as she lets Jake see the real her. The trust that had been broken by the humans is built back up again with the help of Jake, and she realises that Eywa has chosen him as a warrior for their people too.
Tegan Taylor, face mapping.
http://stylecaster.com/beauty-high/avatar-makeup-artist-tegan-taylor-spills-on-how-get-navi-look/
Tegan Taylor is the makeup artist for Avatar, handpicked by Cameron because of her high-tech makeup techniques and skills. When she received the call that designated her as head makeup artist, she realised that she did not have the type of makeup that Cameron would want. Instead, she built a computer program, 'MoCap FX', where she could create makeup looks that could be utilised with the type of advanced technology they were using. "Using fluorescent and phosphorescent facial paints, I worked in collaboration with the virtual effects team to design customised formulas that were compatible with their virtual needs," Taylor says. "All of the products I used on Avatar were designed exclusively for the process, including our unique application brushes and portable mixing trays, to accommodate James Cameron's intensely focused directing." This exciting new makeup technique was difficult, but with perseverance Taylor completed her mission. This high-tech technique consists of hundreds of symmetrical and evenly spaced dots painted on the face with phosphorescent paint, which help map out the actors facial features. This is the new future of makeup and is likely to be seen more then often over the next few years.
Zoe Saldana in filming, www.ceriwis.com
Zoe Saldana in filming, www.ceriwis.com
Bibliography
(Pramaggiore, M. and Wallis, T. (2011) Film: A Critical Introduction. Maria Pramaggiore, Tom Wallis. United Kingdom: Laurence King Publishing)
(The Art of Avatar Makeup, Cara Nash, 29/03/2010, http://www.filmink.com.au/news/the-art-of-a vatar-makeup)
Saving Private Ryan is the second film I am going to study. It is a 1998 period film, focusing on the horrors of World War 2, falling under the Action/Drama Genre, screenplay by Robert Rodat, and directed by Steven Spielberg. It is classed as one of the most honest war films, showing exactly what it was like to be living in the conditions that the hundreds of thousands of men and boys lived in whilst fighting for their countries. It follows Captain John H. Miller, played incredibly by Tom Hanks, with 8 other soldiers under his command, on a quest to bring home Private First Class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon). Alongside Tom Hanks stars Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg and Jeremy Davis. The film was greatly received, and went on to be nominated for 11 Academy Awards. This is one of many of Spielberg's films to revolve around the theme of World War Two, such as the Indiana Jones series and Schindler's list.
Saving Private Ryan Film Poster, 1998
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The film is influenced by the true stories of soldiers that fought through World War 2. Rodat found inspiration after coming across a memorial for the fallen soldiers of the War in Putney Corners. He read through the list of names, and noticed 8 sibling's names. From this, he researched the war and started to write the storyline. The film's text had to be re-drafted 11 times before producer Mark Gordon shared with Hanks.
Tom Hanks starring as Captain Miller, Matt Damon as James Ryan.
amankarios1.umwblogs.org
Throughout the film there are many themes, motifs and symbols, making this film more complex. The strongest theme that runs throughout is courage. Courage is seen by all of the characters, some maintaining their courage throughout, and some lack it at points. Hanks, during the opening seen, leads his battalion onto the shore, all 8 knowing exactly what is ahead of them. He epitomises selflessness, as he fights on to save the life of one man, Private James Ryan. We are allowed to see what makes up most of the characters, but Miller (Hanks) does not let us see him weak. His fear is hidden behind his trembling hands, he will not let on to his fellow troops he is scared, he carries on. Courage is a strong theme, not only in the soldiers, but is also shown in Private Ryan's Mother. She has lost her husband, and three of her sons, leaving only James. She continues to hope and pray for her son's return, and to me that is wholly courageous of her. The character of the Translator, shows both his weak and strong side. Initially, he sits back and lets the Jewish soldier die, scared for his life. His character is seen to grow, and after Hanks is shot by a German soldier, he then goes on to kill him, avenging the death of Miller. The film explores many aspects of courage, and how people act upon it.
Omaha Beach Scene, Saving Private Ryan
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Spielberg uses noise as a motif in the film. The noise in the film provokes emotions from the audience and the characters. Spielberg uses a range in terms of how loud the sounds are, which often puts emphasis on what is happening in the scene. He also uses a lack of noise, for instance in the opening scene, Hanks arrives on shore to the scene of blood and war, and the sound switches from ear-piercing gunshots and grenades to complete silence. This is portraying how Miller is almost mesmerised and confused with the ongoing fighting, but gives the audience an insight to the effects the booming gunshots had on the soldiers. In this part of time, we are Miller, and the noise deafens us to silence. This is a technique used throughout many films, but I have never experienced it work so well as it does in Saving Private Ryan, because we feel as in we are in the character's shoes. Spielberg uses this motif as well as two others to show how Miller responds to what is going on around him. The noise, with addition of his trembling, and the lack of knowledge about Miller's background, leads the viewer to question whether Miller has been a soldier before, or if he had any experience in the field.
The opening scene sets the theme for the film, with men being killed left, right and centre. Men are being ripped apart by machine guns, dismembered by bombs, drowning in the blood-filled sea, and being set on fire by flame throwers. The audience are thrown into the panic, watching men desperately clutching body parts, or struggling to pull torso's into safety. This nightmare scene is filled with vomit, blood and dismembered body parts. The sense of reality here is mesmerising, everyone is drawn into the manic, and feel like they are experiencing the war first hand. Spielberg did not storyboard this scene, which I feel is how he managed to capture such reality, brutality and natural instinct of war. Spielberg uses a filming technique to enhance this experience of feeling as if we are in the movie, called a Bleach Bypass. It is a printing technique, which leaves the silver grains in the emulsion layer of the film, rather than bleaching them. Therefore, this leaves a desaturation effect as it is adding a layer of black and white to the negative film. The khaki uniforms and sand of the Omaha Beach combined with this desaturation of colour resembles historic photographs, and further puts an emphasis on memory, and bringing the audience closer to the action.
The main symbol in the film is Saving Private Ryan himself. He symbolises what every man is fighting for, each other. It seems bizarre to many of the battalion as to why they are risking their lives for one man, but they all do it anyway, in hope that he would return the favour if it were them. Using Private Ryan as a symbol in the film allows the audience to see the character's own thoughts and opinions as to how valuable James Ryan's life is in comparison to their own. As a result of fighting to find Private Ryan, then men in themselves become symbolic of the millions of men who fought in World War Two. A shot of a flag both opens and ends the film, which to me is another hidden symbol Spielberg to build complexity. It shows the freedom of the people, and how united people are, and what they would do to keep their freedom.
Miller's squadron.
subscene.com
Captain John Miller
Captain John H. Miller, played by Tom Hanks.
'www.deadliestfiction.wikia.com'
Captain John H. Miller, is the main protagonist in the film, 'Saving Private Ryan', played by Tom Hanks. The character himself keeps his background to himself, and does not let on to anybody about his past, even when his squadron question him. This implies that he has been in this environment before, and I believe the team cam sense that, as they have the utmost respect for him. In return, he keeps them as safe as he can, and is a true leader. We, as an audience, are not able to see his emotions, like we do with many of the other characters. This makes Miller more interesting for the viewer to watch, as we begin to analyse every move in order to understand his character a little more. The trembling of his hands is one of the only times we are able to see he is very emotionally affected by the war, and that he is finding is just as terrifying and nerve-racking as the millions of other men in the same environment. In the opening scene, he lets out a silent sob, trying to keep face so that the other men in the squad aren't scared. He hides his emotions, not only because he is courageous, but also because he wants to support the group, and does not want them to feel weak or scared. He manages to stay on task with bringing home Private James Ryan, and for that the viewers respect him tremendously. We see throughout the film that he would sacrifice his own life for the life of someone else, and that he is a very selfless man. He develops throughout the film, and although he doesn't say anything about himself, we learn a lot about him. His death is a difficult scene to watch, as much as we obviously don't want him to die, Spielberg is making the audience realise how it didn't matter if you were a hero, you still could die in war, there are no exceptions if you are fighting on the battlefield.
Captain Miller
'www.sproe.com'
There was a huge team of 22 makeup artists and 13 special effects and prosthetic makeup artists used in the film, with Daniel C. Striepeke as Hank's personal makeup artist. Neill Gorton headed the special effects department of 'Saving Private Ryan' at the age of 26 years old. Stuart Conran was responsible for creating around 100 bodies the the infamous Omaha Beach Scene. During an interview he said he holds 'Saving Private Ryan' as one of his favourite film sets to have worked on. "That was really spectacular to see how that was made," he said. "We were working in an aerodrome full of military vehicles with loads of people wandering around in uniforms. It was like we were preparing for war,". ('Special effects star brings to life gory scenes for some of cinema's best horror movies', Brentwood Gazette, Billericay Gazette, 24th June 2011.http://www.brentwoodgazette.co.uk/Special-effects-star-brings-life-gory-scenes/story-12825834-detail/story.html)
Prosthetics and Special Effects Makeup in the film.
www.joblo.com
Bibliography
(Pramaggiore, M. and Wallis, T. (2011) Film: A Critical Introduction. Maria Pramaggiore, Tom Wallis. United Kingdom: Laurence King Publishing)
A Nightmare on Elm Street is the first film I am going to study. It is a 1984 American Horror, written and directed by Wes Craven. It is the first of the Elm Street franchise, which currently stands at 8 movies, not including the 2010 remake. It follows a group of teenagers, who are stalked in their dreams by a burnt and disfigured Freddy Krueger, a child serial killer. Unbeknown to the teens, Freddie is haunting them in particular, as revenge for their parents killing him in a fire. Krueger appears in their dreams, and kills them, therefore killing them in reality too. The film stars Amanda Wyss as Tina, the first victim of Krueger's, Heather Langenkamp as Nancy, Tina's best friend and main character, Robert Englund as Krueger, and Johnny Depp in his first feature film as Glen, Nancy's Boyfriend and third victim of Krueger. This film is amongst many low budget horror films produced in the 1970-80's, many featuring a sexual theme within the teenagers, which leads to their deaths. The first of these films, John Carpenter's, 1978, 'Halloween' which initially led to the term a 'slasher' film.
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' 1984
Film Poster
The film contains many influences from Wes Craven's life and experiences. In the 1970's a group of Khmer refugees who fled to the USA suffered from nightmares and would refuse to sleep, some even dying shortly after this. Craven found inspiration from this story, and used aspects within this greatly remembered horror film. Even Krueger is based on a couple of people in Craven's life, once being startled by an old man walking past his window, and once spending his childhood being bullied by a boy named Freddy Krueger, Craven naming his villain accordingly.
Cast of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' 1984.
A main theme of the film is distinguishing dreams from reality. This serves the purpose of bewildering the audience, and keeping them questioning every movement. Is it real? Or is it a dream? The narrative constantly being interrupted by moments of dream. There is one clear motif in this film; sleep gets everyone in the end. The bed, a place of rest and comfort, turns into a haunting place of nightmares and death. Nancy is attacked in her bed, alongside Tina, Glen and Nancy's mother, who all died in their beds after being visited by Krueger. Tina is stabbed by Krueger in her dream, whilst in Glen's case, he is swallowed up inside his bed whilst he is sleeping, resulting in a geyser of blood and gore spurting up at the ceiling and drowning his room in red. This scene is particularly horrifying, the intense colour drowns his bland room, portraying how Krueger is slowly taking over their lives, and taking them one by one. Coming of age is also frequently referred to, with Freddie attacking the teenagers in particular, which could refer to the dramas and experiences we face during adolescence. A lot of things change for people during coming of age, so this would also be referred to with the idea of distinguishing reality from dreams. Sexuality, a big coming of age experience, is shown in many ways throughout the film. Initially, it is brought into the film by two of the teens, Tina and her boyfriend, partaking in sex, after Tina invited him, Nancy and Glen to stay to keep her company whilst her mum was out of town, and Tina didn't want to be alone after the nightmares of Krueger. Nancy and Glen are in a loving relationship, which is shown through the characters movements, but also their language towards each other. Another way sexuality is shown within the film, is in Freudian images, in very haunting and dream-like ways. For example, whilst Nancy is taking a bath, a clawed hand rises out of the bathtub in-between her legs. Tina's death also visually refers to rape.
Scene from 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' 1984
"In Nightmare, all the adults are damaged: They're alcoholic, they're on pills, they're not around," Englund has observed. Blakely says the parents in the film "verge on being villains." Englund adds that "[t]he adolescents have to wade through that, and Heather is the last girl standing. She lives. She defeats Freddy." (Wikipedia).
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger, 1984.
Freddy Krueger is the main antagonist in the film franchise, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Played by Robert Englund, Krueger is a child serial killer, severely disfigured after the parents of the teenagers set him on fire after finding out what he had done. In return, Krueger lives on in the teenagers dreams, seeking revenge in form of their children's deaths. Originally, Freddy Krueger was to be a child molester, but after cases happening in California at the time of production, Craven changed him to a child killer. In all of the scenes, Krueger can be identified by his red and green striped jumper, a brown hat, his burnt disfigured face and his trademark glove sporting knives out the finger tips, which he uses to kill his victims. When asked about his story behind Krueger, Craven said: "When I looked down there was a man very much like Freddy walking along the sidewalk. He must have sensed that someone was looking at him and stopped and looked right into my face. He scared the living daylights out of me, so I jumped back into the shadows. I waited and waited to hear him walk away. Finally I thought he must have gone, so I stepped back to the window. The guy was not only still looking at me but he thrust his head forward as if to say, 'Yes, I'm still looking at you.' The man walked towards the apartment building's entrance. I ran through the apartment to our front door as he was walking into our building on the lower floor. I heard him starting up the stairs. My brother, who is ten years older than me, got a baseball bat and went out to the corridor but he was gone." (Wikipedia)
In the original film, Kruger is often seen in the darkness, in low light. It is rare for Craven to show Kruger in the light in this film, which makes the character seem more haunting. His blood bleeds an oily colour, but in the dream worlds it is green. Throughout the film, his character not necessarily develops, but a lot is uncovered and learnt about him. Krueger has many super-human capabilities in his dream world, including being able to appear out of nowhere, as well as being able to walk through things, and manipulate objects. But, when he is in reality, he is just as human as the rest of the characters. At the end of the film, Nancy finds his weakness, as she announces that he is just a dream, and turns her back on him. He then disappears with a painful scream. His story of who he is and what he has done is told throughout the series of films, where is is revealed he is the product of '100 mainiacs', after his mother was raped by 100 men.
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' had an extensive makeup department, many of whom focused solely on Freddy Krueger, as his look demanded a lot more from them than anybody else. Kathryn Fenton was the main makeup artist, with RaMona Fleetwood as key hair stylist. David Miller was the special effects makeup artist, who would have focused solely on Krueger, alongside the foam latex technician Mark Shostrom. It was not only the burnt, deep scarred, sore face that they had to create, but also the special effects, such as the wound on Freddy's abdomen that protrudes lime green gunk and maggots, and the skinned face after it is ripped off by himself.
Englund had to wear a bald cap, which covered his ears and neck, and specially made latex pieces fitted on to make up his new skin. The latex is then worked into in paints. Considering the time the film was made, the makeup is believable, especially Krueger's skin. The blood that is shown frequently throughout the film is very bright, but that could be down to the dream world. There are shocking parts which are emphasised by the makeup, particularly the skull scene (above).
