Movie Rating Blogpost

Movie: I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Tells a story which holds the audiences' attention

The story is pretty interesting throughout and the plot points are consistent. Nevertheless, there a quite a lot of plot holes that leave the viewer confused at some parts in the film, which make the story harder to follow.

15/20

Demonstrates camera work and editing which enhances the story

The camera work in the film is pretty similar, with there being mostly tracking, wide, master, and mid shots in the film. The editing, though, makes this movie ten times more interesting, with all the edits making the film seem more vibrant and they add a different feel.

15/20

Contains dialogue. narration, and/or background music which enhances the story

This movie does a great job at using audio to enhance the story. With the main character, Owen, going back and forth on being the narrator throughout the film, it creates this sort of 'breaking the fourth wall' feel in the movie. 

20/20

Has compelling and interesting actors

Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine are some great actors. The actors in this movie give amazing performances that help engage the audience in the movie. I believe the actors drive the plot and give compelling performances.

20/20

Total: 70/80

 

Analyzing Technical Elements of Film

 I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Genre: Horror/Drama

Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Sam Intili, Sarah Winshall, Ali Herting

This movie was something I had been anticipating to watch. The simple sypnosis of this film is: the movie follows a boy named Owen and how he bonds with this girl named Maddy over a show they watch together throughout the years, but with more time, the show and their real lives begin to mix and they can't tell whether their memories are real or if they're fictional. The movie holds a lot of different camera angles, mostly wide shots that capture the characters small compared to the setting, which helps convey the theme. This movie makes good use of zooms and focus pulls to engage the audience. 

There's an emphasis on the main character, owen, which is captured by the zoom into a close-up shot. This  scene shows how owen is sort of enthralled by the show he's watching, which symbolizes how he feels connected to it in some way, telepathically. The scene also makes great use of a slow transition from Owen, to the ice cream truck, and the back to Owen, to draw out his reaction and make the scenes from the show Owen was watching as if they were happening in real life.

This scene shows a young Owen and Isabel (one of the characters in the show he watches) both walking. This tracking shot following Owen shows how much smaller he is to the rest of the landscape around him, signifying how young he is in the first clip. With the transition between young Owen to Isabel shows the connection between him and the character and foreshadows how their lives will blend in the future. Another transition then happens at this clip, which then shows an older Owen,  symbolizing how Owen had matured and how the show shaped him.

The principle of the rule of thirds is clearly used in this shot, with our main focus point being on the bottom right corner of our screen. We can see the conflict in between Owen and his mother, with their body language showing Owen being closed off from his mother. This shot utilizes shallow focus to still focus on the two main characters (can be classified as a two shot), even with the larger field of view in frame.

(TW: EPILEPSY) The sounds of agony and pain heighten this clip, giving the viewers a sense of panic when watching. The screams we hear from Owen also sound like they're mixed in with a woman's screams, which eludes to the ties he has with the character Isabel. 

Contrary to the past clips, this one shows Maddy. This shot is one of my favorites from the movie, since it has such beautiful imagery. The clip shows Maddy under the projections of an artificial planetarium, which we can assume symbolizes how the world felt around her when she was gone for so many years. We, once again, see the rule of thirds principle being used here, with the focus point being Maddy, who is in the middle bottom of the screen.

Sound Art Project

 

scene: walking through a zoo

1. walk by the elephants

2. birds chirping

3. wolf howling

4. lion roars

5. scream (reaction to the roar)

this one is an owl hooting

tires screeching to a halt

walking through a forest

something hiding in the bush

worked with Ethan Moulton and William Carter

Composition

 Rule of Thirds: this shot shows the viewer how the scene is going to play out. The scene is quite neutral, but it would strike a sense of curiosity out of the audience, considering it only shows bits and pieces of the setting.

Shallow Focus: This camerawork of this photo shows how the main character is highlighted within. The audience may feel disappointed because of the expression of the character.

Standard Focus: this shot shows both characters clearly, with the background blurred out. The audience may question the relationship between the two characters, since they are seen together in the shot.

Deep Focus: This shot gives a clear view of the background, middle ground, and foreground, which shows the importance of the setting and the characters. The audience feels happy seeing the relationship between the two characters.

Focus Pull: The shot gives shows a shift between the foreground and the middle ground. The characters make the shot more interesting, with the characters moving around in the middle ground.

Classmates Blog Commentary

 Ethan Moulton

His wide shot video was very good! I think the video gives the audience a sense of isolation in the way that the person is seen as the focus point, showing us that he is completely alone. The shot helps with the atmosphere, since it adds a sense of emptiness to the clip.

The waist-up shot contrasts the wide shot, giving the viewer a good idea of the dynamic between the two people portrayed on-screen. The audience gets a sense of friendship between the two people, showing that they are having an enjoyable time. The contrast between this and the wide shot is the fact that this one is zoomed and focused on the characters themselves, not the setting.

Although his over-the-shoulder shot is a great example, because of the simplicity, it simply does not give the audience a lot to look at. This video specifically gives a very dull example of the shot. This, though, does help with showing the audience what an over-the-shoulder shot looks like. 

Overall, the videos on his blog are very insightful, being able to capture simpler versions of the shots and angles.

William Carter

His master shot uses the dutch angle to portray the clip. This video gives a nice and clear establishment of the characters and setting. This also gives an insight to the stuff happening in the background, with the audience being able to hear the commotion that is out of view.

The two shot video is a great example! The video establishes a bond between the two people in the video. It gives the audience a even ground with the characters being shown in the video.

His overhead shot (or aerial shot) gives a very clear difference between his other videos. This shot gives a bird's eye view of the subjects. It offers the audience a disconnected, or godlike, feel when they watch the video.

Overall, I feel as if his videos are very confusing, not giving clear shots in the videos. The amount of zooming and angles in his videos make it very hard to figure out what kind of shot each video is.