| TASK COMPONENTS (INQUIRY) | NOTESWRITE NOTES IN THIS COLUMN |
| The extract may be up to five minutes in length and must be a single, continuous sequence of the film | |
| Time of 5-minute clip | 1:12:00 – 1:17:00 |
| PART 1 – The film, your scene, why it is of interest, and how your scene relates to the whole film. | The film i have chose is Boy by Taika Waititi. I picked this film because the Maori and native culture interests me. With further research, I’ve also picked this film because I have seen Waititi’s films before and I appreciate his work. The film also interests me because I want to explore how Waititi implements the culture of New Zealand into the film. The scene I picked is the climax of the film and it’s filled with lots of action and emotion. It explores all the topics and shows the result of all the problems coming together in a clip. |
| Brief Summary of ExpositionWriter, Director, Producer, studio, year released Main characters, conflict, identify the genre. Identify the aspect ratio. | Exposition Writer:
Taika Waititi.
Waititi is a director and writer. He is known for his work in Marvel movies like Thor Ragnarok, and his work in Avengers movies like Avengers Endgame.
Director:
Taika Waititi
Producer:
Cliff Curtis, Ainsley Gardiner, Emanuel Michael
Studio:
Whenua Films
Main Characters:
Boy (James Rolleston), Rocky (Te Aho Eketone-Whitu
Actor), Alamein (Taika Waititi)
Conflict:
Boy idolizes a man he doesn’t know much about. This man is his father who has been absent for most of his life and all of his younger brother’s life. They are both immature in similar ways so they relate to each other at first. They are both this way due to the death of the Dad’s (Alamein) wife, and Boy’s mom. Boy is trying to relate and become like his father, but his father has only returned to look for his missing money.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Coming of age
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 |
| Context of Extract in Film – briefly describe the scene at what times does your scene occur, how it begins, and how it ends. Do not describe it further. The judges have seen the movie. | At the start of the 5 minute segment, it starts with Boy sitting on the bridge and then the bikers pass by. He gets hit by flashbacks and falls off the bridge into the water. The “weirdo” is the one that pulls him out of the water. The scene cuts to later in the night with Alamein (Shogun) sitting in his shack drinking. A sparkler appears in the dark night and it’s Rocky. He enters the shack where Shogun is. Rocky apologizes for what he has done to his mom and the tension rises. Boy walks into the frame and pushes Rocky away. Boy dumps his Dad’s missing money on the ground but it is shredded to pieces. A fight between Boy and his Dad breaks out and Rocky and Boy leave. |
| The Rationale for Selection – relation to the entire movie, why is it interesting and why does this scene best illustrate the themes of the whole movie? | This segment is important to the film because it shows the motif of healing. This scene is also the most important part of the whole movie because it leads into the climax. The section relates to the start of the film quote of E.T. and the theme/motif of healing is shown. The sparklers are lit up, and Rocky touching his father shows the act of trying to heal a missing bond between the two. The theme of healing, what has been lost, left behind, and missing is shown and then related to other parts of the film. It is interesting because the theme of sparklers shows up throughout the film and E.T. also shows up throughout the film. The importance of these two reoccurring topics are revealed. |
| PART 2 – Remember to integrate the Director’s intent with each of the following areas in this section | |
| Narrative | |
| Script – Not just dialogue but in terms of being the spine of the storyExplain how this scene advances the plot. How do the events of this scene clarify/complicate matters? How does this scene affect/cause future events? What new information is revealed or suggested about a character? Is there anything deliberately withheld? Is anything unusual in the dialogue? Word choice? Delivery? Accents? Repetition? | The narrative throughout the story shows the mess that this family is in. In the act of falling off the bridge, Boy is hit with a wave of flashbacks. Flashback of him and his mom, but not with his father in them. Memories of what actually happened versus what he believed in the start of the movie. Boy has realized that his dad has never been there for him, Rocky, or his wife. This impacts the later scene when he confronts Alamein about being absent in his life. The realization of no longer idolizing his father, maturing from within, and the coming of age. With these flashbacks and revelations, the repetition of “You were never there!” It’s the turning point for Boy and how he sees he doesn’t have any potential anymore. |
| Cinema Photography | |
| a) Camerawork – describe shots in specific termsShot size: ELS, LS (stage), full shot, MS, CU, ECU. Camera angles: bird’s eye, high angle, eye level, low angle or Dutch (oblique), camera movement: pan, tilt, dolly or tracking, handheld, Steadycam, or moving crane. Invisible V conspicuous. Are tracking shots motivated by character movement? | Extreme CU of Boy’s eyes before the flashbacks. Upside down angle that leads into a POV shot of Boy when he falls off the bridge. CU of Boy. Full shots of Alamein. Dolly shot of Rocky roller skating towards Alamein (looks like he’s floating or levitating. Full shot of Rocky and Alamein together, transitions over the shoulder shot. Over the shoulder shots throughout the argument to put the viewer in the moment. A full shot of Alamein and Boy fighting switches to a low angle shot of Alamein crouching down saying, “That’s enough.” Over the shoulder tracking shots to finish the scene, then a full shot of Alamein. |
| b) CompositionOpen/closed composition, aspect ratio, rule of thirds, Kubrick single-point perspective. | The screen is split up with the bridge and Boy is sitting on the intersection. When the scene cuts to Boy looking up and he is in the center of the screen, perfectly symmetrical. During his flashbacks, his mom is in the center of the rule of thirds, showing the importance of his mom. The scene of the sparkler and Rocky shows a POV shot from inside the shack. This out Rocky “boxed in.” |
| c) Depth of FieldConsider foreground, mid, ground, and background. Deep focus is associated with wide-angle lenses. Could be flat. Narrow ranges of focus may be the result of telephoto lenses. | Boy goes from foreground standing on the bridge, to focusing on the background from when the bikers ride by. Once he falls off, the CU shot is foreground focused. When he gets the flashback of his Grandma rocking Rocky, the background is focused on his grandma. During the argument both are in foreground and nothing changes. When Boy walks away, Rocky is unblurred as Boy gets closer to him. |
| Mise-en-scene – The overall look and feel of a movie | |
| a) Position of characters and objectsIdentify the dominant, does movement guide our focus, character proxemics patterns (intimate, personal, social, and public distances). How does the director add meaning to these choices? Is one character encroaching on another’s space? Watch for space being used to portray relationships/changes in relationships. Watch for windows, doors, and parallel lines that frame people or objects. Entrapment. Look for actor placement. Front – actor facing camera, greatest intimacy. One-Quarter Turn – very popular. Profile – character lost in the moment, a bit more distant than the previous two. Three-Quarters Turn – useful to convey anti, socialness, Back of Head, most anonymous shot. Creates a mystery or feeling of alienation. | The bikers encroach on the Boy’s space when he is on the bridge so Boy has to move back and press up against the railing. The run down shack boxes in Rocky when he enters the scene. |
| b) LightingLow or high key. How does the director use light to focus our attention? The Key light, fill light, and backlighting. What is the source of lighting in the context of the scene? | Bright and sunny and then the sun sets once Boy wakes up on the side of the water. Once it shifts to the Shack it is pure night time black. |
| c) Color schemeHow does the director use color and what is the director’s intent for doing so? Look for color symbolism or color associated with characters. Color to suggest a mood. Color as foreshadowing. Contrasting colors ( the monolith v white room) | When Boy gets flashbacks, the scenes are more golden because he is remembering the true memories of his mom. In the shack, the earthy brown/yellow tint shows the dullness of the shack and living situation. This also brings out the emotions of emptiness of the household and the loss of a parent figure. |
| d) Set/location/propsSet design. Studio or on, location, describe props, scenery, what was the Director ́s intent for using them? How dense is visual information? Stark, moderate, or highly detailed? | When the scene starts, it shows the nature of New Zealand and the Maori nature. When it cuts to the shack scene, it shows the low economic level that the family is in. |
| e) Costume, hair, make upPeriod, class, gender (emphasize or diminish), age-appropriate, silhouette (close-fitting or baggy), fabric (plain, sheer, rough, delicate), accessories. Color is very important in relation to character. | Boy’s hair is all messed up due to his bad haircut that his father gave him to be something that he is not. Throughout the film, the clothes are more run-down and smaller fitting showing the lower economic state that the Maori people are in. When it cuts to Alamein, his ace is all sweaty and roughed up from the struggles he is going through. |
| f) Acting/body languageActing style, body language, blocking, period, or contemporary. Individualized (Joker), Stylization. Look for subtext (the character says one thing but means something else). Consider typecasting as a shortcut to characterization. | Contemporary shows that each character has their own unique body language. When casting, Taika picks Maori boys to represent the characters instead of bringing in actors that wouldn’t represent the culture. |
| Sound – watch scene w/o pictureLive sound, sound effects, and music. Sound can be diegetic, meaning characters would hear it, or non, diegetic, meaning that characters would not hear it, such as narration or music over the credits. Explore the relationship between diegetic and non, diegetic sound when appropriate. | |
| MusicIs the music telling you what to feel? Music can be used as a counterpoint to the action. | In my section, when Boy sits on the bridge, Amazing Grace starts to play in Maori. The song symbolizes mourning and the conversion of the Maori people to Christianity from missionaries. Eerie music when Rocky walks in shows the connection of E.T. and his spirituality. This process also shows the healing process. The music fades out when the sparkler fades out in sync. |
| EditingEllipsis (time compression) and cross-cutting, fades, dissolves (fades between scenes), wipes, matching cuts, straight cuts, dialogue overlap, and sound bridges. Consider how long each shot lasts. | Blink cut from when Boy blinks it transitions to a flashback. Straight cute throughout the rest of the scene. |
| Part 3: Analyzing the Film as a Product | |
| Sociocultural ContextIn what way was this movie a product of its time? What does the audience learn about the culture or historical context of the film? | In the 2010s, we saw an increase in 80s/90s nostalgia films. Nostalgia films offer comfort to people or groups that the movie focused on. The nostalgia films also could be played out through what the director experienced. This experience was played out in Taika’s work, with the situation the Maori people were in during his childhood. The film makes multiple pop culture references with Michael Jackson being one of Boy’s biggest influences. The connection between E.T. is a reoccurring theme that starts at the beginning and all the way to the end. The staging of the scenery and color scheme reference the impoverished state of the Maori people during his time. |
| Target AudienceTeens/adults or male/female age group, college education art crowd, liberal, conservative, Christian | Boy was realized for the college education/ art crowd. The potential of how much you can analyze the film shows the target audience and the level it was made for. |
| Generic Expectationshttp://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html Also research http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tropes | Boy is a coming of age movie that also represents a specific group and shows the problems that they faced in New Zealand. |
| ThemesMan V Man, or one of the others, is this film an allegory? | The film is a Man V man film that focuses on the tension between a father and his kids. The film is also an allegory as it has a hidden meaning of healing and the process of accepting something you heavily idolized at first. |
| Motifs/SymbolsWhat specific devices support your definition of the theme? Look for recurring elements. | The theme and motif of healing with the gift of sparklers and the relation to the movie E.T. The motif of healing is the reoccurring topic of trying to mend a relationship that never was between Alamein and the kids. The touch of Rocky healing Alamein with the sparkler relates to when E.T. touches and heals Elliot with his glowing finger. E.T. was also quoted at the start of the film. |
| Film CriticismBoth contemporary and current. Use brief quotes from two different sources. Record the details: reviewers’ names and publication names/dates | “Homegrown though it often feels, the film is hurt by a distinct lack of budget; how else to explain why “Thriller,” or any song at all by Michael Jackson, never appears?” – Rotten Tomatoes Reviewer Dustin Putman
“The use of flipbook animation and exaggerated fantasy sequences entails a certain logic, but these devices run aground on a fairly limited sense of imagination which fails to make up for the story’s essential slightness.” – Rotten Tomatoes Reviewer Andrew Schenker |
| TASK COMPONENTS (ACTION) | |
| Compose Paper | |
| Part 4: Sources | |
| Source 1 | “Boy (2010)” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560139/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_boy%25202010 Accessed 8 June 2023. |
| Source 2 | “Taika Waititi” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169806/?ref_=tt_cl_dr_1 Accessed 8 June 2023. |
| Source 3 | Lawrence, Nora, “Working Towards Māori Equality.” Cultural Survival Quarterly, Cultural Survival, www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/working-towards-maori-equality. Accessed 8 June 2023.
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| Source 4 | Daniell, Bianca “Creative Narratives in Boy” Vol. 13 No. 1 (2012): Special Issue on Taika Waititi’s Boy, Media Peripheries, Victoria Otago March 31 2014 |
| Source 5 | “Boy (2010) Soundtrack” IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560139/soundtrack/ Accessed 8 June 2023. |
| Source 6 | “Boy (2012) – Rotten Tomatoes.” Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, URL (without the “https://”). |
| Source 7 | Ian Pool, ‘Death rates and life expectancy – Effects of colonisation on Māori’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/death-rates-and-life-expectancy/page-4 (accessed 13 June 2023)
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| TASK COMPONENTS (REFLECTION) | |
| Revision 1 | Proofreader: |
| Revision 2 | Proofreader: |
| Revision 3 | Mr. Le Duc |
