Scenes and Setting

In the two american crime films selected for this essay, Badlands (1973) and Natural Born Killers (1994), there are many different and also similar scenes and areas in both films which represent different things throughout each of the movies.

To begin I will talk about the wide landscape areas that are featured in Badlands, these type of areas are very common throughout the film. The wild american desert which you see Kit standing in to the right is a setting where a lot of key scenes take place; such as his surrender/capture and also there are many shots and scenes of Kit and Holly travelling through the open desert by car and foot as the desert is often viewed from outside the windows of the car.

America is viewed as the country of freedom, I believe this is projected through this choice of scene, the open road and wild barren desert give a sense of wilderness and almost a sense of isolation from the real world, this links to the freedom america is renounced for and also to the idea of the american dream which is represented very strongly in both films. This absence of the 'real world' is also what Holly and Kit stated they were searching for, they made their own home out in the woods and when they were found they fled in search of a new home to live, far away from civilisation.

Next I will do a compare and contrast of two scenes set in both the exact same places for each story, Mallory's house and Holly's house. Holly's house in Badlands was very suburban and generic although her family did not match these normal traits, Holly's mother died giving birth to her and there for her dad was left with her as she grew up without a mother. This dysfunctional family is a theme which occurs in both films. Mallory's house is quite alternate to Holly's, Mallory's family consisted of her mother father and younger brother all living under the same roof. Mallory's father sexually abused her and we can prove this through the performance of the characters in key scenes which occur in Mallory's home setting, from key lines Mallory says such as "you never tried to stop it" which Mallory says before setting her mother on fire. Mallory goes through a great deal more than Holly does in her home life, this is reflected in her character as she is very eccentric and boisterous in comparison to Holly. During the death scene of Holly's farther which took place in her home, Holly took no part in his murder. Where as during Mallory's parents deaths Mallory assisted in drowning her farther and burning her mother this shows the difference in character between the two. These key areas are seen to be quite isolated from the outside world, although they are part of communities and civilisation, no other characters are seen in these settings and this adds to the theme of being alone which occurs in both films.

The final setting I will talk about is the prison in Natural Born Killers, this setting is completely exclusive to Natural Born Killers as we see M&M after they are captured where as in Badlands the story ends when Kit is captured and sent to the electric chair, we see no scenes inside a prison. The prison setting is very grotesque and so are many of the characters which reside within in it. Scaggnetti is in a huge number of the prison scenes, his character is given back story in the few begging scenes of the prison as he talks to Dwight about his mothers murderous rampage which shows the audience as to how Scaggnetti became such a disturbed character. Part of the police Scaggnetti is seen killing a prostitute in a motel room, he has a violent attitude towards women this is confirmed towards the end of the movie where he tries to abuse Mallory in her cell. The prison is home to a lot of inmates to the idea of communal isolation leaves in this part of the film due to the high population of inmates and camera crew that are seen in the prison setting. Wayne Gale is in the prison towards the end of the film due to an interview he has with Micky before the riot breaks out he is also a very distorted grotesque character and we see this through many uses of colour during the prison setting. Flashes of green, blue and orange all occur in this setting these colours also occur earlier in the movie but are incredibly common and highly used in this setting, these colours represent greed, jealously and sickness all things which the movie shows the media is. Many characters are hunting for fame and this is noted through things they saw during the movie about being 'stars' and featuring on television shows, all aspects of the media are covered this links to the greed and the colours blue and green which often represent this throughout the movie. The media is viewed as the root of all evil throughout the whole film, even in prison televisions are situated around the building, in the final ending sequence of the film a camera man is present. Media is always present in every sequence in the film except for one, in the native american's hut there is a television but it is switched off. This goes back to the idea of the native american's being the first to own america and now media and all these other aspects have polluted the country.

The ending scene in the prison is packed full of analytical film themes; colour, religious symbols and the dutch tilt and angles are used very often throughout the prison sequence. These all affect the audiences perception of the film.

In conclusion both films rely heavily on scenery and setting as it helps set a feel and mood to a film, it contributes to adding meaning and story to the film and also helps create the view on which people see the film. Natural born killers is viewed as a dark film where as the majority of Badlands' scenes where in the day which could indicate a difference in the time both films were made and how that society has changed with its perception to the crime genre.

Section C - American Film Comparative study

How far do the two films you have studied for this topic present similar messages and values? [40]

Natural Born Killers (1994) is an American crime film directed by Oliver Stone and Badlands (1973) is another American crime movie and it is directed by Terrence Malik. In this first section I will be talking about the values and messages of the movie Badlands, there are many hard to notice messages that are shown throughout the entirety of this movie, in the first initial scene when Holly and Kit meet Holly is standing in the light and Kit in the shadows which is a symbolism that Kit is not to be trusted where as Holly is seen to be a warm and innocent character. Through the progression of the film we find that Holly is quite a cold naive character, she narrates the film and give important background information that is not necessarily shown in the film, for example the voice over tells the audience about Kit being executed on the electric chair, we don't necessarily see it happen. The fact that Holly is a cold character can be proven through her reaction to the deaths of both her dog and farther, she seems very unaffected by both incidents, although she did not take part in the murder of her farther like Mallory did in NBC, but she doesn't try to stop it or seem to mourn him through the film which helps show her morals and values in the film. There is also the aspect to Holly that because she is so young and naive she may not understand the impact of murder as we see this a lot through the film when Kit murder's people she seems very calm and almost non caring about the situation. Many messages in the film indicate the role Holly will take in the movie, a sign close to holly says "bait" which could be pre-emptive towards her role later in the film it also tells us a lot about the narrative. Comparison between Holly and Mallory is that they are very different types of characters. Holly is a very passive, quiet almost innocent character, her sexuality is very weak compared to Mallory from Natural Born Killers, Mallory's sexuality is incredibly strong, this is noted through the outfits she wears, the confidence her character bares and the extremely romantic relationship she has with Micky you could also say her sexuality is strong because of the scene where she seduces the gas station boy to try and get revenge on Micky for looking at other women. 

Although they have very different alternative characters for each films, the messages and values remain quite similar for both movies. The lover of the lam story is the main feature of both of the films and both pairs of characters are seeking the same thing through the film. The American dream. This is idea that anyone who lives in the USA can succeed through hard work and become happy with their lives, the definition is often including things such as freedom and meaningful relationships and sometimes fame. Both sets of characters in both films are searching for 'the american dream' both sets of characters gain notoriety throughout the films which could be linked back to the idea of the american dream.  

Genre and Narrative

How far do the american films you have studied for this topic depend on well established narrative and genre conventions?

Badlands and Natural Born Killers both have similarities and differences in narrative and genre, Badlands is set around the 1970's and in this time media had very little influence on americas population. Where as in Natural Born Killers the media has been given the impression that it has complete control over people and it can alter their behaviour and make them violent. Although these films do have similarites they both have similar narratives and themes, Badlands has key features of the dysfunctional family, mass killing spree and a love aspect to the narrative; where Natural Born Killers takes it to an all new exaggerated level, the characters in NBC are more knowing in what they are doing and take enjoyment out of going on mass killing spree's where as characters Kit and Holly in Badlands are extremely naive and are less in tune with what they are doing.

The genre 'lovers on the lamb' has conventions that are present in both films, they both have the run -away couple who are in pursuit of the american dream, the characters desire to become someone else, to become famous, to become a social icon to their generation. A key scene in both Badlands and NBC is the death scenes of the female characters parents. In Badlands Holly's fathers death sequence is a lot more serious and hard hitting than NBC in this scene Holly stays behind Kit as the scene progresses she takes no part in killing her parent, where as in NBC Malory takes enjoyment in killing her parents, this may be because of the abuse that she had gone through because of them, but Malory takes part in drowning her father in the fish tank and setting her mother on fire. We know that Malory was a victim to abuse from a line she said to her mother before she killed her "you didn't stop it" this abuse could be the reason why Malory is as eccentric and crazy as she is and why she does begin her killing spree.

This genre and narrative links very well to the idea of the 'american dream', this dream is represented so many times in both films. Kit and Holly seek this dream through freedom and notoriety, Kit tries to become notorious and "famous" just as his idol James Dean, he tries to reflect his idol in his character and you can see this from choices he makes through the movie, such as choices he makes on his appearance and look. The hat he wears in the end scene where he is caught and how he dresses and presents himself.

Step outline reflective analysis

Step outline  reflective analysis James Fawcett
I produced a step outline featuring six different scenes and sequences, I did this work on my own and I used many different micro features within my work. I used sound to help create tension and make the scene more intense, the non-diegetic sound added to the horror aspect of the story board which helped to unnerve the audience. I enjoyed choosing when and where to put non-diegetic sound in my sequence I believed it worked well because it did everything I want it to do and worked successfully within the step outline. I tried to use lighting towards the end of my story board, I struggled to find the right places to use it so if i was to do a step outline again I would learn to put lighting in with more affect.
I added a lot of camera angles and shots throughout all of the scenes in the step outline, I believed I used the camera angles well to show characters power or vulnerability in certain scenes and shots. I also used close ups to signify importance of objects and items which could link to the mise en scene of the story. The mise en scene could have been used a lot more I think but again I found it hard to find the right places and times to add mise en scene to the story I would definitely go back and re-do this if I had chance. I didn't involve editing in my step outline which I would definitely like to do if i were to do another step outline as Its a different approach to the work and can change the perception of the scene completely.
The narrative I chosen was based off of a mix of previous horror films I had watched in the past, I added aspects of lots of them to put together my own narrative to use for my work. The narrative wasn't the best, it could have been more detailed and thought over more but making a narrative is not my strong point in Film, but I did try to the best of my ability. The audience I believe would follow the early parts of the narrative quite easily, but towards the end of the story it becomes slightly hard to understand and there are many questions left unanswered during the climatic point of the story. This would make an audience confused and not understand alot if the story were to continue from where It left off.
In my narrative I had only one proper character Zoey, I tried to keep it as one character because I wanted to really show the influence of isolation in my narrative I wanted it to be a big aspect of the story as it is a good convention of the horror genre. Choosing a young female character I think adds to the vulnerability of the character, as most audience members would be more caring and concerned for a young girl rather than an older man, this is all adds to the audience feelings and emotions. I could of maybe made two different characters and maybe have them become separated during part of the story which would keep the isolated convention fresh in the narrative and give a larger character list to work with.
The plot wasn't very planned I wrote it as the ideas came, which isn't a particularly good way to plan a narrative so if I were to do it again I would definitely plan out a narrative with key scenes to help build tension then big action scenes to execute all the tension that's been building up through the story.
My initial role was to create a narrative and add key micro features to the plot and plan it all out in the form of a step outline, the strengths of a step outline is that it is easily changeable and if you don't like a certain shot or scene you can edit it very easily. I changed my mind multiple times about the narrative and I found it easy to change everything I had already done to fit the new narrative. Disadvantages are that the step outline has to be heavily detailed else it is hard to get your idea across to someone who is reading it, you have to explain what type of shot is being used, what angle the shot is at, if there is any non-diegetic sound taking place. It has to be detailed and if it isn't as detailed as it should be then the narrative or image you have may not be perceived as clearly as you would hope.
Consequently I believe I did a good job at creating a step outline, If I were to do it again i would try to focus on adding other aspects to the work which I didn't add this time round.

Step outline

Scene 1 Page 1
Slugline - (Present) CABIN - DAY
End Point in Last Scene - N/A
Characters in Scene -  Zoey
Point of Scene - Introduce Zoey to Audience
Allow audience to get understanding of her character
Ending/Central Question - Why is Zoey in the Cabin
What does she plan on doing there
Key Micro Elements  -
Camera will be a key feature of this scene with mise en scene showing importance as well, the mise en scene in this sequence will show Zoey's values and traits and what type of a person she is. Close ups will be used to show importance of certain objects and points that are relevant to the scene.
Scene Description focusing on key micro aspects  -
The scene opens with Zoey bringing her luggage into the cabin through the front door, her muddy, dark coloured shoes dragging across the floor(mise en scene) as she enters the small building (camera). Her bags drop out of her hands and crash onto the living room floor of the cabin (camera) Zoey then travels through the cabin checking out rooms and familiarises herself with the area (backwards tracking).
Zoey finds the run-down bedroom and inspects the décor of the room (handheld). She discovers an old vinyl player with multiple records lay next to it, after placing the most modern looking record onto the player and turning it on(close up of vinyl) she lays down on the bed to day dream.

Scene 2 Page 2
Slugline - CABIN - NIGHT
End Point in Last Scene
Zoey day dreaming on bed and consequently falling asleep
Characters in Scene -Zoey
Point of Scene - Introduce mirrors
Unnerve audience
Ending/Central Question -  What is wrong with the mirrors?
Key Micro Elements - In this next scene im going to focus a lot of non-diegetic sound to add tension to the scene, I will also use camera angles to help show Zoeys lack of power that she has in the scene and how she isn't as safe as she thinks she is in this cabin. Also some convections of the horror genre will be made prominent in this scene
Scene Description focusing on key micro aspects  - Zoey wakes from her daydream, the vinyl is still absently spinning on the player but is no longer playing a song (camera), she takes the needle off the player and begins to inspect the cabin in more detail. (non-diegetic tension building music slowly builds) She walks into the bathroom and pulls the string to turn the light on, the light slowly flickers on (high angle view of zoey from light perspective). Zoey approaches the mirror (music intensifies), Zoey washes her face in the sink and checks herself out in the mirror, she turns her back to the mirror to leave the room as she does this her reflection stays in place (music/nails on a chalk board sound) her reflection glares at Zoey as she leaves the room. Zoey being completely oblivious to what just happened.

Scene 3

Slugline CABIN- Night

End Point in Last Scene -

Zoey leaving the bathroom

Characters in Scene - 

Zoey

Point of Scene - Further add tension and fear to the audience

Ending/Central Question - Who is the lady in red?

whos at the door?

Key Micro Elements  - In this next scene I will continue to focus non-diegetic sound and I will also make mise en scene more relevant to the scene. Camera angles will continue to show Zoeys vulnerability during this sequence.

Scene Description focusing on key micro aspects  - Zoey leaves the bathroom and goes to the living room, (camera tracking as she moves through the house, tracking her from the side) as she walks through the house you can make out her reflection in the windows, mirrors and reflective surfaces,(tension building non-diegetic sound comes back) her reflection is not her own but of a woman dressed in a red dress (mise en scene). Zoey stops in the living room and lights the fire. Zoey goes and gets a book off the book shelf on the far side of the room, on top of the book shelf are religious figures such as crosses(camera) and small angel figurines (mise en scene). Zoey sits herself onto the red sofa(mise en scene) (low angle shot) and begins to read through the book she took off the shelf, (non-diegetic sound intensifies) (camera begins to slowly zoom in on Zoey from low angle). (high angle shot of bathroom mirror) There is a knocking at the front door, Zoey is startled then gets up to go answer the door.

Scene 4 Page 4

Slugline - CABIN - LATE NIGHT

End Point in Last Scene - Door knocking

Characters in Scene -  Zoey

Point of Scene - 

Scare audience

Scare/unnerve character

Ending/Central Question - whos in the house?

Key Micro Elements  -

In this scene I will continue to carry on using the non-diegetic sound to create and build tension for the audience I will also add more aspects of mise en scene to certain objects around the cabin, this will add more understanding to what is happening in the scene.

Scene Description focusing on key micro aspects  - Zoey approaches the door to open it, (low angle shot) Zoey slowly opens the front door to the cabin (non diegetic sound peaks), to find that no one is at the door she steps outside and looks around to find no one in sight. Slightly unnerved Zoey walks back into the cabin and locks the front door behind her.  A window smashes in the distance(diegetic sound), Zoey quickly runs into the bedroom and grabs a baseball bat, she walks back into the living room to find the front door wide open. Zoey runs outside the front door to see if anyone is around, as she steps outside the door it slams behind her and locks. (non-diegetic music begins) As Zoey tries to open the front door and realises it has locked all the lights in the cabin go off leaving her in complete darkness and leaving her outside.  

Scene 5 Page 5

Slugline - WOODS - LATE NIGHT

End Point in Last Scene - Zoey being locked out

Characters in Scene -  Zoey

Point of Scene - Climatic point in story

Ending/Central Question - Where is she going to end up?

What will happen to her?

Who is the woman in red?

Key Micro Elements  -

In the next scene I wont be focusing on camera angles as much but lighting and sound. Lighting and sound will help create the right atmosphere during this scene to make the audience uncomfurtable and to scare them. I will also concentrate on performance aswell to help the audience understand how the character is feeling in this certain part of the story.

Scene Description focusing on key micro aspects  - Zoey bangs on the door of the cabin (all non-diegetic sound stops) and cannot get back inside no matter how hard she tries. The cabin is located in a woodland area which is very isolated, behind her she hears movement in the bushes. As Zoey turns to face the bushes you can see the woman in red(mise en scene) behind her in the window of the cabin (non-diegetic sound begins very intensly), Zoey turns back to the cabin and see's the Woman behind the window. Startled,(performance Zoey jolts back and begins to run through the woods in hope to find a road. The woods are incredibly dark (low-key) Zoey trips on some bushes (camera) and falls and hit her head. She imediately gets back up and analysises the area round her. Its so dark she can barely see anything but almost as if glowing she can see the woman in red pursing her through the woods. Zoey terrified (performance) begins to run again through the woods as far and as fast as she can. In the distance she can slowly see the sun rising. 

Scene 6 Page 6

Slugline - WOODS - EARLY MORNING

End Point in Last Scene - Zoey running from the Lady in the woods

Characters in Scene -  Zoey

Point of Scene - Ending point to story

Ending/Central Question - Who was in the woods?

Will Zoey ever go back?

Key Micro Elements  - 

In this final sequence I will primarily focus on non-diegetic sound to show that the character has reached safety and to gives the audience a relief to what has previously happened. I will also try to show aspects of mise en scene. Some camera angles will be used to show Zoeys change in power

Scene Description focusing on key micro aspects  - 

As the sun rises Zoey begins to find herself nearing a road, glancing behind her she can see that the Woman in red (mise en scene) is still behind her but further away in the distance as if she cannot go out because the sun is rising. Zoeys wrists and arms are cut from running through all the branches in the forest (camera), Zoey notices the sun coming up into the sky(camera) as the woods begin to lighten up around her.(non diegetic/upbeat sound begins) She continues running and find herself coming up onto a main road through the woods. 

As she runs out onto the road(high angle) she glances back to find nothing is now following her and she is out of danger, a car begins to come down the road (camera) and Zoey signals for help. Zoey gets into the car (longshot) and drives away.