Westerfield - Casablanca

The final scene of Michael Curtiz's Casablanca differs from all the other scenes of the film in that it utilizes heavy fog instead of an actual backdrop so that we are unable to get a sense of depth from the shot. Realistically speaking this makes more very poor flying conditions but thematically it works to create a sense of unknown and uncertainty, as well as forcing the characters in to the position of the dominant because there is simply little else to look at. For the character of Rick this scene is a sort of jumping-off point, as he makes a decision to abandon his neutrality and joint in the conflict by helping Ilsa and Laszlo escape from Casablanca. The majority of this scene is shot in either with personal or, as is the case with Rick's final conversation with Ilsa, intimate camera proxemics. The characters are positioned relatively close together almost forming a line from left to right with a gradual change in color value from the darks of Captain Renault to the near ethereal lightness of Ilsa and Laszlo.
As the representative American the beginning of Rick's involvement with the war also works to signify that of the US as well. Rick's speech works to highlight the propaganda being used to recruit American involvement, "The troubles of a few people don't amount to a hill of peanuts in this crazy world." Rick's friendship with Captain Renault speaks of the possibility of allying with French, and indeed both of them exit into the fog in a manner similar to how a cowboy might ride off into the sunset, something typically considered American.

Westerfield- The Social Network

It's important to keep in mind while watching David Fincher's latest film that it was intended as a dramatic piece and as such some of the details regarding the Facebook lawsuits and the events leading up to them have been modified to better suit the narrative. Probably the best example of this is the character of Erica, Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend at the beginning of the film. That she is in fact fictional does no harm to the movie, but her character serves as a point of insight into the motivations of Zuckerberg. The final scene works metaphorically to illustrate the way he attempts to compensate his need for acceptance with the creation of Facebook, sending her a friend request and continually refreshing the page to see if she's accepted or not, the scene running long enough that we get a sense of futility.
The screenplay functions around this emotional center and as a result does something worthy of praise. It takes events such as legal proceedings and computer programming, things that should intrinsically be boring to the general audience, and through the use of a non-linear narrative structure permeated with sharp and well-written dialogue makes them fascinating. The main story takes place during the legal proceedings of the two lawsuits with flashbacks establishing how we got to that point. This allows us to contrast the character relationships (Zuckerberg, Eduardo and the Winklevosses) in the beginning with what they will become pending the lawsuit and creates a dramatic tension that drives the rest of the story. A linear narrative may have worked fine but it would not have been as effective because, as Fincher is clearly aware, The film is more concerned with the transformative process of the characters than the end result. We already know how the story ends.

Westerfield - Avatar

As the ruler of the land of Oz, the Wonderful Wizard is venerated by all his subjects, for without him their lands would fall into a state of anarchy. He is very powerful and a problem-solver, which is why Dorthy and her companions set out to find him. If he were to take a strengthsquest test he would probably be deemed to have restorative, input, and strategic attributes. It is for the general cerebral nature of these qualities (cerebral in a very literal since he is just a magical floating head) and for those qualities themselves that Oz is my choice for an avatar. I feel that kind of presence, the kind of command of authority the can cause Dorthy and her companions to cower back as flames shoot up from the ground, is very representative of my personality.

Westerfield: Beowulf's Arrival

When analyzing Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf, one has to keep in mind the film was originally screened in 3D and as such several of the scenes were designed to exploit that effect. Consequently, we have scenes like Beowulf's arrival to the shores of Hrothgar's lands, where he is greeted by a mounted soldier and has a spear thrust in his face in such a way that, to the audience of the 3D version, it looks like it's protruding out at them. But, regardless of dimension this is an awkward scene. The spear point doesn't so much come forward as simply appear and the knight's arm doesn't even move the spear while this is happening. This exaggerated perspective combined with the tight framing obscures the level of depth within the scene so that the spear looks cumbersome instead of dynamic. Part of the purpose of this camera angle is to serve as an equalizer, by placing Beowulf at the same height as the mounted soldier as it pans left. If anything the height difference should be emphasized, like through an over-the-shoulder shot from the back of the soldier looking down on Beowulf so that it could be contrasted with his defiance of the native authority.
The lighting of this scene positions Beowulf as the dominant of the scene by utilizing the primary contrast of the orange and yellows of his skin and hair against a relatively blue and vacant background. It's difficult to comment on the effectiveness of the lighting key because of the use of 3D, which has the side effect of making the general lighting of a film darker, but for this scene the choice of a stylized look works relatively effectively. The only qualm here is the lack of reflective lighting within the eyes of the characters.

Westerfield: Wolfman, the Real Top Dog

The most effective moments of the Wolfman (2010)come during the attack at the gypsy gathering, when Lawrence (Benicio Del Toro) ventures off after the werewolf and loses sight of him in the fog. We perceive the threat he poses to Lawrence but, like Lawrence, we cannot see him to know when or where he will strike, resulting in suspenseful tension. If only the rest of the movie followed this dynamic.
Instead it relishes in the prowess of digital imagery, and in terms of the films overall Gothic look this is effective. But it also means that we aren't spared any of the visceral details of the werewolf's violence, blood painting the screen as he slashes apart limbs and organs with graceful ease as though he were cutting through gelatin. The results in scenes that tend to be over-stylized and at times rather silly.
The 1941 version lacked the ability to produce comparable visual effects, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It relied on the implication of violence: cutting away before blows fell, having action occur outside of the frame or using objects such as trees to obscure it. But this isn't a slasher film. We don't even actually see the werewolf until two-thirds of the way into the film. Instead it spends more time building up the wolf's legend so that when the werewolf is revealed it's as a payoff. Here the monster's horror comes not as a result of it being a mass-murdering juggernaut, but something more subtle. This werewolf may not be as stylized as the 2010 equivalent but these imperfect effects, the glow of his eyes, the more humanoid face, create a sort of eeriness that is lost to the digital counterpart. Plus it doesn't look like a bear.

Westerfield: Kaufman

The dominant for this scene is Andy Kaufman's (Jim Carrey) face, as he is the only thing within the frame that isn't red--the blue of his creates contrast--and his face is in the spotlight, setting him up immediately. The lighting is relatively high key; Kaufman and the stage curtains are illuminated by stage lights both on the floor and the ceiling so that there is almost no trace of shadow. The scene is in wide shot at lower to eye level with Kaufman; we are looking straight on at him. But he isn't positioned at the center of the frame like we'd expect of a typical entertainer. Kaufman is positioned slightly to the left and up against the curtains as though there was some sort of space or gap between him and the audience. The real Andy Kaufman wasn't the typical comedian. He liked to play games with his audience and his relationship with them as an entertainer could be described as uneasy at best. This first scene of the movie is set up this way to direct our focus to character of Kaufman as he stands upon the stage (it's not like there's anything else for us to focus on. But at the same time there is this sense of discomfort as Kaufman, with all the open space on stage, occupies as small of a space as possible. The spotlight is on him but it almost looks like he's shying away from it by not standing at the center.