Cecil B. Demented notes

1) narrative
- how does the story progress through time? it is a basic, straightforward timeline, moving from the beginning of the movie to the end of the movie.
- how are the main characters revealed? When in the storyline? the characters are revealed in a very straightforward way.
- what genre is the film? does it stay true to its genre or does it break conventions? it has a little bit of every stereotypical Hollywood genre - action, comedy, drama, etc.
- is the film about the medium itself? does it incorporate the context of the medium into the films storyline? obviously...the entire film is about movies and the stereotypes that go with them.

2) use of camera angles and perspective
- how does the director use camera angles to control point of view?
basic 'standard' film cuts and shots..occasional "cheesy" fades between scenes. some shots form characters' point of view, also as a cliche.
- how does the perspective add to the context of the scene? i think the point of the standard and stereotypical angles, cuts, fades, etc, is to poke fun at the use of them in every movie.
- does the director use a predominate angle through out the film or a variety? most of the shots are straight on, mid level, with occasional variety from other angles (to show perspective) and different zooms.

3) content
- what are the main colors in the film? dark colors and crazy neon, stereotypical "cult" film colors
- how realistic or surreal is the environment? how does this play a role in the narrative? most of the movie is realistic, though cecil's 'studio' is surrealistic in its decoration, colors, use of found objects, etc.
- how does the film use or break stereotypes? the film makes fun of all the classic movie stereotypes - hollywood cliches especially.
- is the film beautiful or sublime? i think it's somewhere in between...leaning towards sublime.
- what era of technology is the film? does this change during the film? modern day - maybe ten years ago, when the movie was made.


other notes:
- soundtrack; what is the music? what is the feeling? music vs.
ambient sound? sound effects?
- intro credit music is a remix/mashup of retro/modern music with movie themes thrown in
- ambient sound (footsteps, cars driving, etc) in combination with prominent soundtrack. very cliched "soundtrack"-y music - rock during kidnapping, hip-hop during driving, retro classic song at the end, etc. some of the 'ambient' sounds are especially loud and over-exaggerated as a nod to cheesy movie sound effects - slurping oysters, etc.
- where does it fit on the chart? reality? ideas? abstraction/art? i think it is a combination of all three, so it fits somewhere in the middle.