On Wednesday, we watched Woody Allen’s film, Manhattan. I’d heard of Woody Allen before, and I thought that I’d maybe seen one of his films before and just didn’t know that it was by him. However, it turns out, that this was the first film of his that I’ve ever seen. I found it to be very amusing while dealing with some rather dramatic situations. For homework, we were asked to analyze the movie, and I thought it was a very interesting film to analyze.

1. The camera seemed to be focused mainly on Isaac, the main character. Of course, it focused on the other characters as well, but Isaac was the main focal point of the camera for the majority of the film.

2. Many times, I found that Allen chose to frame the scenes to make the people seem like part of a bigger picture. The camera would be focused on the characters, and yet it would also be zoomed out enough to show what was going on behind them; I think Allen wanted to show that despite whatever issues the characters in the film were dealing with, they were all relatively small compared to the rest of the city of Manhattan.

3. This film was shot in black and white and while I think that in general, shooting in color allows the filmmaker to fully portray the picture that they’re trying to paint, I think that a big advantage of filming in black and white is that it forces the audience to use their imagination to fill in the colors that they can’t really see. I think it can possibly engage the audience even more than a colorful scene can.

4. The clips lasted for a few minutes each before moving into the next scene.

5. The dialogue was very varied in this movie. At times, the characters would engage in intelligent conversation while at others, they would speak rather crudely. It was fitting, I thought, because if you were to take a stroll in Manhattan and listen in on random conversations as you pass by groups of people, I’m sure you’d hear such variety.

6. The costumes seemed like the normal attire you’d see people wearing in New York City. The film was a portrayal of the city of Manhattan, and I think that what the characters wore helped execute that portrayal.

7. There wasn’t much music in the movie, as far as I can remember. When it was there, however, it highlighted the scenes that it accompanied. The one that stood out to me was when Isaac was with his son. The music drowned out the rest of the sound and we just got to see Isaac interact with him, and we got to imagine what was being said instead of actually hearing it. Again, I find it a bit more engaging when the audience has to use their imagination instead of having everything given to them.

8. The set in this movie is, quite fittingly, New York City. The film is meant to portray Manhattan, and what better way is there to portray Manhattan than to shoot the movie in the city itself?

I honestly thought that this was a fun movie to watch, and because of it, I might try to watch some other Woody Allen films in my free time.

Wednesday was our first movie-screening day in seminar. The first movie we viewed was Manhattan, staring Woody Allen. The movie is a romantic comedy in which Isaac Davis, played by Woody Allen, falls in love with his best friend Yale’s mistress, Mary, while currently in a relationship with a 17 year old. I am unsure as to what I personally thought of the movie, since I spent the first half hour or so paying more attention to how the film was produced, rather than the actual story line. By the end, however, I was able to piece all of the characters together.

In terms of the film’s production, there are several pieces to be examined. First, the camera was always positioned to keep the main character, Isaac, in the shot at all times, regardless of who was speaking. For instance, if Isaac and his ex wife were having a discussion, the camera would be focused more on him, rather than her moving around the room. In my opinion, I felt that this kept reminding you to focus on his reactions and remarks, rather than those from the other actors and characters. In addition, there were many of scenes where the main characters were walking down the street having a discussion.  The camera remained tight on those people, yet allowed some scenery in, giving the ambiance of walking down a New York City street talking with friends. Also, it seemed as if the camera wasn’t always in the actor’s faces. There were many shots in which there were people or cars interrupting the frame.

The choice of the director to shoot in black and white or color is a very important one. There are certain advantages and disadvantages of each way. For this movie, I thought that shooting in black and white was a good choice. The black and white film gives the movie an old fashioned romantic feel to it, making certain scenes, such as the one looking at the Brooklyn Bridge, that much more magical. The only downside to using black and white film is that you need to be very careful and intentional with your lighting. For example, in the scene where Isaac and Mary are inside the space exhibition, you could barely make out their faces or bodies. Another great example is when Isaac shows everyone the brown water in his apartment. Everything has to be exaggerated 10 x to have it appear on camera properly. One thing that bothered me throughout the film was there were no transitions in between the scenes. The cuts were very quick and hard.

In the movie, there was very little music, except for the points where Isaac was with his son, or when he was with Mary. This can be analyzed from several points of view, but I feel that the director’s choice to put music only in these parts was to show the differences in Isaac’s moods. The music was present when Isaac was really happy and enjoying himself, rather than living his dreary, emotionally confused life.

On wednesday, we watched the movie Manhattan in class. This movie is directed by Woddy Allen is about a forty-two year old writer who is trying to live a normal life in Manhattan. However, he has much difficulty in doing this due to many barriers, such as having a relationship with a seventeen year old girl.

1. I thought the the camera functioned in the movie very differently than it would in other movies. Even though the camera did focus on the actors during different scenes, it also did something different which I found to be very interesting. The camera would capture the dialogue between the actors, however, it would not focus its attention on the actors. For example, when Issac and his seventeen year old girl friend left the diner after school, the camera captured the dialogue between the two but did not show the audience the presence of the actors.

2.The directors approach with framing scenes with people was somewhat odd. As I explained before, there were some scenes where the director captured the dialogue between the actors but did not actually show them present in the scene. Although the majority of the scenes were with the presence of actors, there were a few scenes where this did not occur.

3. Since this movie was filmed in black and white, it had a different effect than it would have had if it were filmed in color. This actually confused me because the movie was actually set in modern times. I did not know why Woody Allen decided to set the movie in black and white. However, his decision definitely made it more interesting.

4. The clips in this movie did not last for that long. I do not remember any scenes where the clips were long and the scene was filmed in the same place for a good amount of time. I thought that the camera moved frequently and the different parts in the scene were brief.

5. The dialogue between the characters represented the time period in which the movie took place. It was somewhat modern and involved contemporary language.

6. The costumes in the movie usually describe the time period it was set in. Just like the dialogue in the film, the costumes described in what year the movie was set. The clothing and the hairstyles of the characters made me believe that the film was set in the 1970s.

7. Usually, the use of music in a movie plays a huge role. However, in this movie I rarely remember any music being played at all. I am sure there was some music played in the movie, but it did not play a huge role or had an important significance in the flow of the movie.

8.The role of the setting of the movie also is very important. This movie was set exactly where the title of the film tells us: Manhattan. I believe it was a great place to set the film. Since the protagonist is a writer trying to find normalcy in his life, Manhattan was a great place for him to reside. The director tries to make the setting as real as possible.

To be honest, this movie was one of craziest movies I have ever seen in my life. There were so many insane scenes and facts about this movie that made me want to slap every actor involved. As crazy as it was, I did wind up enjoying the movie.

This Wednesday, we watched a Woody Allen film called “Manhattan”. I have heard of Woody Allen before but never witnessed any of his works. My first impression of the film was that it was odd but amusing. I felt like it was realistic even though it was over exaggerated and the dry sense of humor kept me on my toes. Before we watched the film, we were given a series of questions to consider after watching clips from two other films.

1. How does the camera function?The camera played a vital role in the film because of its variations. One moment the camera would follow the characters from one end of the street to the other. At other times, it would remain in one place and we would watch the characters enter the scene and then exit the scene all in one shot. But what was most interesting was that it was used in such a way that the viewers were able to capture all the dialogue which is perhaps the most important factor of the entire film because of its wittiness and relevance to the progression of the film. The camera was sometimes placed in the dark so the audience wasn’t distracted by the surroundings; in that moment all that mattered was the dialogue.

2. What is the director’s approach towards framing scenes with people? The director often made the characters the focus of the scene. For example, the one scene when Isaac, Yale, Tracy and Mary were walking out of the museum together. The director had them exactly in the center because their dynamic amongst themselves mattered to the progression of the film. At other times, the director purposefully took the characters out of focus because their dialogue mattered more. Both techniques were intertwined together in such a manner that it properly delivers the message of the movie.

3. What impact does the b&w v. color have? The use of black and white shows that regardless of the time period in which this plot took place, the relationship issues that people deal with are the same and will forever be the same. The situations dealt with are very modern but the black and white sets its timelessness and also addresses the setting. Since the movie is in the city, the use of black and white enhances the timelessness of the city life and also addresses the chaos that exists.

4. Generally, how long do the clips (edits) last? It definitely varied. At times the transition wad very quick and at times it was long; it depended on the relevance of that particular scene to the film as a whole.

5. The dialogue was fit for city folk. It felt natural and not forced and that made the plot line so much more believable. At the same time, the dialogue was full of humor.

6. What is the role of costume in each scene? The clothing was very middle class which is exactly what the characters are. So it didn’t dominate in any way or distract the audience from the significance of the dialogue. It kept it realistic and appropriate.

7. What is the role of music in each scene? The music wasn’t as important as some other factors. In fact, I hardly remember hearing any music at all. Once again, this might have been the director’s approach to figuring out what mattered and what didn’t and the music didn’t have much relevance.

8. What is the role of the set in the movie? The setting took place in various areas of Manhattan and it was important in terms of the who the characters were. Their lives were as chaotic as city life and drawing attention to that, enhanced the chaos of each character’s lives.

Overall, I enjoyed watching this film because it’s a film like no other. I’m curious to see what other films Woody Allen directed and acted in because his style is very appealing. This film was also very appropriate to the class since it focused on the “Arts of New York”. I look forward to viewing other films and opening myself up to different genres and such.