Opener 3(f): Spike Jonze for Ikea

Thanks to Mallory for finding this gem for us to watch today. The ad can be found here.

In addition to directing the great and odd Being John Malkovich, Jonze has also done some work on videos for a guy called Fatboy Slim. Here's a funny video he did for his song "Praise You." Jonze is the guy in the striped shirt who seems to be running the show. It's not great art, just goofy dancing.

Opener 3(e) "Bleeding Love"

For today's opener, Emily has suggested we have a look at this dance choreographed to the song "Bleeding Love." It's one of those hip-hop numbers the kids are all doing these days.

How do you describe movement? What kinds of movement do you try to describe? Is there a narrative here? How is the story told and what moods are being evoked here? How many tone shifts can you detect?

Opener 3(d): Transformers, Dark Side of the Moon

Today: Transformers 3! What do the editors of this trailer want us to know about their movie? How do they go about selling it to us? What stylistic choices do they make here?

Opener 3(c): The Graduate

Here is a link to the final minutes of the Mike Nichols film The Graduate (1967). Discuss the nature of Ben's parallels with Christ--if he is a Christ figure, what kind of Christ figure is he? What do these parallels add to the film's social commentary?

Opener 3(b): Adele

Madison has shared a link with us for this video of Adele's "Hometown Glory."

To help the process of observation along, remember SCASi: Setting, Character, Action, Style (the "i" stands for "ideas").

Describe the setting and the mood it creates.
What can you observe about the character?
What significant action, motion, process takes place here?
How does the director's style affect the mood? Lighting, camera shots and angles, editing.

And the music, too, what about that?