We are both English-speaking countries, yet in some ways, differences still make you wonder. Looking through the lens of British Free Cinema, I use the two freedoms as inspiration, “freedom of commercial constraints and considerations, and the freedom to choose the subjects that interested them as artists” (Lay pg. 59 ). With only a camera on my phone and inspiration. At the same time, I walked; the film was to bring the eyes of someone showing them a view of the differences between Britain and the United States. The idea of different cultures shocks you and makes you question their differences. With only use the city of London as my landscape. The short film I made, Culture Shock, is to show you a few places you see every day here in London now, it's not much of a shock, but for first-time visitors, you might see something different than what you’ve encountered before. The short is to give insight into contemporary London as a visitor who has not travelled much wanting to capture London’s differences. The filmmakers for the Free Cinema role were “seen as complementing the public service broadcasting ethos” (Lay pg. 68). This shows that any person is fit to be the subject of cinema. Furthermore, as a young working-class woman, playwrights like A Taste of Honey (1961) can produce an important play that baffles many. No matter who creates or produces a play or film, it can be crucial to someone. While documenting this film, using only a mobile phone camera and a tripod gives you only the ability to do an action physically, like zooming in and out on a focus point. Or the movement of panning either left or right or up and down. Many shots will have a main focus while also using a shallow preoccupation. Staying in focus is just as important as the things around you.
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Caitlin Stout
Professor Peterson British Cinema 21 March 2023 Animals in Ireland Native to exotic animals, Ireland is home to animals native to Ireland and beyond. Movies like Wolfwalker (2020), directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, and Zoo (2017), directed by Colin Mclvor, tell the story of animals in Ireland. Both movies' stories relate to animals seen in Ireland and their relations with Britain. Britain Explained by Martin Upham mentions that conflict remained confided in Northern Ireland during the time of world war 2. However, England invaded Ireland to spread their church views to the people of Ireland. Engaging with the films depict Ireland during two different periods, one with animation and the other from actual events. The animated film of WolfWalkers engages the story as a work of historical fiction. Taking place in the town of Kilkenny in 1650 during Oliver Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland. The location depicted is a country town in the South-East region of Ireland with the city built behind walls with the farmland surrounding the town. The town is where the co-directors were part of a program called the Young Irish Film Makers in Kilkenny, making the location well-known for the directors. Both directors are passionate about animal rights and environmentalism, showing their stories as they depict the environment and the saving of the wolves at the end. The film shows “man’s disconnection from the natural world, the destruction we cause by treating native species as our enemies–and the harmony we can achieve by embracing them and treating our planet with care and respect” (McNamara 2021). Based on the movie, the directors are showing the audience the importance of native species as they help the environment by bringing awareness to how destroying the environment will cause backlash from the creatures that inhabit the area. The director's theme for the story works well with style used for the animation look of the film. The film’s animation style is all hand-drawn, with every frame completed by hand. Their style is loose and rough, with no lines being clean or perfect, as seen with Mebh (Eva Whittaker), who is described as wild and free with her shape, not exact. Nevertheless, with about 80 animators working on a project that is all done by hand helps that the style is loose and nothing has to be precise. Different frames show how the line work is used, as thicker lines are used when it has a close-up of characters or is used as shading. Using other line techniques reveals how close or far an object is placed in the film. Besides the line work, the character design is just as crucial in Mebh showing off her wolf-like features and that she is a part of the woods but with a youthfulness in her character design. While Robyn’s (Honor Kneafsey) character is square, showing the difference in their upbringing and how she is not similar to the kids in the town. Her character changes through the film, along with her design look, as her features are not as clean and become looser. Though the film characters change as our main character and her dad develop a new understanding of Ireland. Watching the development of Robyn, you see her change from being the English girl who moves to Ireland with her father, Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean), to aid the Lord Protector Oliver Cornwell(Simon McBurney) in invading Ireland. She is first shown as a wolfhunter, just like her father but changes her mind once she meets Mebh, a wolfwalker, who helps her in Mebh's search for her missing mom. The story's central theme is finding a balance between nature and stability, structure and rules. The idea behind the story is Celtic mythology on the tales of therianthropy, the ability of humans to shapeshift into animals. Tomm Moore's inspiration comes from the man-wolves of Ossory, with Ossory being a “medieval Irish kingdom that comprised what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois” (WolfWalkers 2021). Whatever mythology inspired the directors helps the story build off a time of England invaded Ireland, and the natives pushed against the invaders. From the early 1600s, animals could only be depicted off what people saw surrounding the land, but as time passed, people would learn about animals from farther lands. Zoo is based on a true story of a baby elephant who survived the blit of Belfast during World War 2. The director Colin McIvor adapts the story of Denise Westone Austin, Belfast Zoo’s Elephant Angel, as she kept Shelia only in the evenings. Though the adaption changed a bit from the original story as Ms. Austin was a zookeeper at the Belfast Zoo, she “took Sheila from her enclosure, walked her a short distance to her house at 278 Whitewell Road and walked her back to the zoo in the morning” (Our Elephant 2018). Although in the story, kids play the main protagonist, the main character being a 12-year-old animal enthusiast named Tom Hall (Art Parkinson). Tom is the son of George Hall (Damian O’Hare), a veterinarian at the Belfast Zoo, and Emily Hall (Amy Huberman), a nurse. His father takes him to meet the baby elephant that Tom names Buster in this movie, and when his father has to serve in the war against Germany, the elephant becomes the center of his days. This adaption of the story still keeps the person Denise Austin (Penelope Wilton) as she keeps Buster hidden in her backyard. The story is still very similar to the original, and how relates to the impact of World War 2 in Northern Ireland. The main characters are Tom Hall, Jane Berry (Emily Flain), Peter (Ian O’Reilly), and Denise Austin, as they care for the baby elephant Buster during the bombing of World War 2. The original elephant Angel, Denise Austin, is still shown in the movie but not as the zookeeper that helped the original elephant Shelia in her backyards in the evenings. Ms. Austin is now shown as the elderly woman in town running her own animal sanctuary in her home. Tom is the person who witnesses the city leaders' order for the potentially dangerous animals to be killed due to the thought of the dangerous animals possibly getting loose during air raids. Tom and Jane enlist the help of Peter to help break Buster out of the Zoo before he could possibly be killed in the next round. However, the location they keep Buster turns out not to be satisfactory. They go to Ms. Austin for sanctuary; her backyard seems the perfect place to hide Buster. The movie's similarity to the actual story is Ms. Austin's role of having an elephant in her backyard; the placement in time and the use of the Belfast Zoo are the only aspects of the movie that stays true to the story.. Zoo uses the story to convey a deeper meaning to animals being treated with affection and respect and “emphasizes the importance of saving animals from callous, selfish, and inhumane decisions of humans” (Brussat, 2023). Using cinematography helps show the importance of saving Buster and the war’s toll on the people. Using close-ups like the one of the security guard Charlie (Toby Jones) as he tells Tom, “Go on. Enjoy Them. Won’t be here much longer.” (McIvor 2017). Then it pans upwards to the city in the distance with fire in different places framed with green trees and grass from the Zoo’s location. Like many other times during the movies, it has a close-up of the characters affected by the war and the bombings in Belfast. Actors are made up of British and Irish actors and use the locations of the Belfast Zoo for onsite location filming. From location to the importance of animals, the film emphasizes not judging people by their appearances and following your own morality and not what the authority demands as we follow the story of Buster, the elephant. In the two movies, animals can bring out the worst in some people, and the care one will do for something they believe. One is based on folklore, and the other on a true event; they relate to caring for others and rescuing another. Films can help people understand the realities of life and the tragedy humans can bring. They both end happily after an attack on a group. Work Cited “Behind the Scenes of the Beautiful, Hand-Animated ‘Wolfwalkers.’” Frame.io Insider, 3 May 2021, blog.frame.io/2021/05/03/made-in-frame-wolfwalkers/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. Debruge, Peter. “‘Zoo’ Review.” Variety, Variety, 9 June 2018, variety.com/2018/film/reviews/zoo-review-1202838568/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. Light, Jo. “Learn the Basics of Animation with the ‘Wolfwalkers’ Team.” No Film School, No Film School, 22 Mar. 2021, nofilmschool.com/basics-animation-wolfwalkers. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. “Our Elephant Angel at Belfast Zoo.” Belfast Zoo, 2018, www.belfastcity.gov.uk/Zoo/Conservation-and-history/History-of-the-zoo/Our-elephant-angel. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. Upham, Martin. Britain Explained: Understanding British Identity. John Harper Publishing, 2017. “WolfWalkers and Irish Mythology: The Lycanthropic Lore behind the Oscar-Nominated Animated Feature.” Irish Myths, Irish Myths, 10 Apr. 2021, irishmyths.com/2021/04/10/wolfwalkers/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. “Zoo | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice.” Spiritualityandpractice.com, 2023, www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/28595/zoo. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023. |
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