Successful Crash essay by a student

Question. To what extent are production techniques in a single scene effective in conveying a film’s central idea(s)?

In a single scene a film’s themes can be brought to the fore through the use of production techniques. In Paul Haggis’ Crash such a scene is when a Mexican locksmith’s daughter is nearly killed by an angry, frustrated Persian shopkeeper, laying bare to us the theme of racism.

One technique that Haggis uses is filming into the light such as the tracking shot of Farhad , the shopkeeper, as he approaches the locksmith Daniel’s house. This breaks up the frame of the shot, giving a jarring effect, and also ties in with the collision theme. This means not only physical collisions like the car crashes that open and close the film, but also the clash of many different races and cultures in modern Los Angeles. This particular tracking shot is also a close up of the gun in Farhad’s hand. This shows the extent to which racism can twist a person: at the start of the film Farhad is a victim of the gun store man’s abuse, and while he isn’t presented to us as lovable, he is certainly not contemptible and we do feel sorry for him. However, Farhad had become bitter from all the prejudice facing him and is now prepared to shoot a completely innocent person over one misunderstanding

Sound and music are also used in this scene to increase drama and tension which in turn helps present the theme of racism better. The music as Farhad approaches Daniel is soft, gentle and dreamy, rather out of place against the harsh images of a gun that we see. When Farhad starts shouting at and threatening Daniel, the music acquires a more urgent pulsating chordal background, the volume rising to a crescendo which reaches its peak when Farhad fires his gun. At this point the sound of the actors is muted, and the noise of the gunshot dominates. The silent screams of Daniel and his wife somehow have more power than an ordinary scream and the anguish caused by this racially inspired event is very clear. The almost angelic tone of the music after Farhad has shot his blank gives the scene a sense of redemption: Daniel’s daughter’s life has been saved and so has Farhad’s conscience by the intervention of people who can transcend racism, people like Dori who loaded her father’s gun with the fake bullets.

Even Haggis careful attention to mise-en-scene helps contribute to the film’s ideas. Various Christmas objects such as a Christmas tree and the wreath of Daniel’s door give the scene a certain grim irony. Christmas is meant to be a time of peace and love, yet here there is an attempted murder in revenge for loss of material wealth – hardly the spirit of Christmas. Again, this shows the twisting, warping effect of racism, that a time like this can be turned into a near death experience. Another example is the American flag flying behind Farhad, creating black humour. It comments on today’s American society – the flag symbolises America but the America shown in this scene is one of violence and misunderstanding. As Paul Haggis mentions in his commentary on the film, the flag was placed there deliberately to say “this is what our country is really all about”.

Paul Haggis’ use of cinematography, sound and music, and mise-en-scene in Crash is effective in conveying the effects of racism but as this theme is conveyed so bluntly in almost every scene, it loses a bit of its impact.

595 words

Exams!!!

The year 13 English exam will consist of the following

An essay question each on The Lovely Bones, The Merchant of Venice and Crash.

An unfamiliar text question which will require you to read a poem and a prose passage on the same theme, answer questions on their meaning and style and then compare/contrast them.

There is a booklet on The Lovely Bones which will provide you with all you need to know for the exam. You probably won't have time to reread the book: read through the notes which contain material on all the possible essay questions (well ...). In term 4 you might want to reread the book for the external exams.

You have a booklet on The Merchant which will likewise help you a lot. It will also pay to read the court scene again and some of the key speeches, especially those of Shylock.

As for Crash - it would pay to get hold of the DVD and look at key scenes, thinking and making notes about the ideas, characterisation and techniques.

Oral Presentation

Achievement Standard: 90725 v2

Construct and deliver an oral presentation

Credits: 4

In this activity you will:

· construct and deliver a presentation on a literature topic

· integrate a range of oral and visual language techniques

Here are some requirements

Careful structure

Carefully planned delivery techniques such as:

v Oral and visual language techniques including those below

v Stance

v Gesture

Voice: tone, volume, pace and stress

v Overhead projector

v PowerPoint presentation

v Whiteboard

v Posters

v Video or DVD,

v Dramatisations

v Group or whole class activities. (They shouldn’t dominate and must be efficiently facilitated.)

v You may use audio / visual resources as required.

v Photocopied resources

v Props or other items

As you construct your presentation check with me that the techniques and resources you plan to use in various parts of your presentation are suitable and appropriate for your purpose.

Length: at least six minutes long and probably longer if group work is included. (Please keep it short – no longer than 20 minutes!)

Developing your topic

In consultation with your teacher select a literature topic which interests you. The most sensible topic for your presentation is your literary theme research topic but you can talk on any other aspect of literature or even on one of our three texts, Crash, The Merchant of Venice and The Lovely Bones.

You have looked at those presentations from last year which gained Merit/Excellence and have been moderated and approved. These presentations were well constructed and interesting because they involved the audience and were well structured and thought out. All of them used dramatisations, or bold Powerpoints or props … in other words a variety of oral and visual techniques to convey ideas to the audience in an engaging manner!

PRESENTATION PLANNING BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH

Look at the answers to your three or four key questions which will of course include some interesting conclusions. These three or four points will be the points you make in your presentation. You can even present them as questions on PowerPoint and then deliver your answers and analysis in your ‘speech’.

POSSIBLE PRESENTATION TOPICS DEVELOPED FROM ONE LITERARY TEXT COULD INCLUDE

Crash

· The role of a key production technique

· The issue of race

· The impact of setting and society

The Merchant of Venice

· Anti-Semitism in Shakespeare’s time

· The speeches of Shylock

· Comedy or tragedy?

The Lovely Bones

· The use of symbols

· The psychology of the book

· The first person narrator

Remember that your research is due at the end of term. It would pay you to present your research because preparing the presentation will help you complete the research.

If you do one of the single text topics you will have to finish your research on top of that. However, you also need to choose a topic that helps you achieve your personal best.

A full copy of the assessment activity from TKI is one the teacher’s desk for you to read.

	Criteria	What they mean
Achievement	Construct and deliver a presentation which communicates with an audience. Develop and support idea(s). Use a range of appropriate presentation techniques for a specific audience and purpose.	This means that you have to include the audience in some way or at least show them what you mean through oral and visual techniques You must have ideas that you explain and support with examples/quotations Your purpose is really to teach your class so make them interested by using more than one technique
Merit	Construct and deliver a presentation which communicates effectively with an audience. Develop and support detailed idea(s). Combine a range of appropriate presentation techniques for a specific audience and purpose.	This means that you are careful to include the audience and make your message clear to them as above. You achieve this well. You include plenty of examples and apt quotations to expand on your ideas and give evidence for them. Your techniques are combined well and are not too random and messy
Excellence	Construct and deliver an effective presentation which convinces and / or challenges an audience. Develop and support detailed idea(s), showing insight and / or originality. Integrate a range of appropriate presentation techniques for a specific audience and purpose.	Your presentation really makes the class think. It has depth and is persuasive. You show a lot of perception or original thought in your conclusions. Your techniques slot into each other nicely and work seamlessly together to get youR point across.

To sum up

· To gain at least Achieved you need to have some solid ideas and use a range of techniques (say 3 as a minimum) to convey them. Reading from a sheet of paper or cue cards is not adequate at this level but you can have paper or cards as support. Remember that you are teaching the class.

· If you are nervous about speeches, you will find this task less nerve-wracking because you can use props like the data projector or the whiteboard to break up the speaking.

· You may enlist the help of other students to run the DVD player for you or for dramatisations etc

New Assessment in English

Now that we have written the film essay, it's onwards and upwards to the next unit in our year planner, oral presentations. These are to be based on your research which you really should have finished by now. If you have not, you can work on the two simultaneously in class. Write up your research and then turn it into an interesting 15 to 30 minute presentation.

You have 8 periods in class to prepare this, plus of course your study time.

I will simplify and clarify the requirements for "Say it on Texts" from TKI and give you a printout on Monday as well as publishing it on this blog.

Crash Scene Essay

1. Crash scene essay

[Photo]
Writing about the "It's a really good cloak" scene has been a good exercise in looking at production techniques.

The use of a tracking shot which follows a detail like the gun in Farhad's hand is clear in its effect and purpose here.

I think you can also see what the director means by "shooting into the light to break the frame" here too. The effect is to destroy the usual arbitrary frame which surrounds normal shots and give a more chaotic and life-like feel. It also ties in with the ideas of people and cultures and emotions colliding. To me it also has a visual link to the out of focus lights seen at the beginning and throughout the film. When we crash we see things like this - as if we are squinting. Our perception changes and as someone said in an essay, there is a surreal effect - it's like a dream or nightmare.

Crash Characters

Sandra Bullock as Jean Cabot
Brendan Fraser as Rick Cabot
Nona Gay as Karen

Lorette Devine as Shaniqua Johnson
Matt Dillon as Officer John Ryan
Bruce Kirby as Pop Ryan

Terence Howard as Cameron Thayer
Thandie Newton as Christine Thayer

Don Cheadle as Detective Graham Waters
Jennifer Espositio as Ria
Larenz Tate as Peter Waters
Ludacris as Anthony
Beverly Todd as Graham's Mother

Shaun Toub as Farhad
Marina Sirtis as

Michael Pena as Daniel

Jack McGee as gun store owner

Ryan Phillipe as Officer Tom Hansen

Crash - film essay

2005: To what extent do you agree that the techniques of film are ideally suited to the treatment of
themes?
Discuss your views with close reference to the treatment of a key theme in a film (or films) you
have studied, referring in detail to at least TWO techniques.

This question asks you to consider the suitability of Paul Haggis' techniques for the delivery of the theme of racism in his film. You can praise his techniques and - if you feel confident enough - can add an element of criticism. This film won three Oscars in 2006, including Best Picture (also best editing and best original screenplay). However, it has also attracted criticism for being over-the-top: stereotypes on steroids, one critic said.

One plan is to discuss the film's dialogue, cinematography and symbolism.

Here is an example of one paragraph and a possible conclusion as shown in class today, Friday 17 August.

Another technique which is ideally suited to conveying themes is the use of symbols and motifs. Symbolic images have layers of meaning and appeal to the imagination and emotions. Haggis sets his film at Christmas time in Los Angeles during one of the coldest winters the city has ever experienced. In the director's commentary he says that "if it can snow in LA then there's hope for all of us". The last shot of the film is a bird's eye view of a crash scene with reverse tracking back to show a larger view of the city with the snow falling gently with the lyrics of the soundtrack saying "some day I'm going to find a way". Snow symbolism had been foreshadowed earlier in a shot of Cameron after his cathartic anger at the police. He felt a sense of release and redemption, getting out of his car to see softly falling flakes of what turned out to be ash. The shot of the falling snow on the usually warm and racially divided city is a nice touch which wraps the film's conflicts well and tells us that there is hope. It works in conjunction with the box of blanks and the invisible cloak to cleanse the city of its violence and hate.

(Conclusion) Crash is very successful in conveying its race theme, however much we might feel that the techniques are excessive - "stereotypes on steroids" one critic called them. Haggis' use of Tarantino-like dialogue and strong cinematography and symbolism all force us to confront the racism that we probably all share but dare not express.