Cinematography Essays

Cinematography Essays Cinematography Essay Cinematography Essay Essay Topic: Film 1. Cinematography The main shot sizes of this scene in the movie are close-up shot and long shot. As this scene is about the emotional conflict between different characters, lots of close up shot size were frequently used to show the changes of characters facial expressions. This scene starts with a close up shot to show Mimis face which conveys the fact that he is extremely upset. Above all, after he walks toward his wife, he is in the dilemma of upholding his honor. At this point, the close up shot which shows his facial expression changing from angry to crying is a definite example why close up shots were used in this quarrel scene. In addition, during the time when the characters are talking, this shot size is matched with shot reverse shot. Another main shot size is the long shot to show characters action. During the quarrel, Mimis actions are vehement and drastic. Therefore, this kind of shot size is required to show all his assault and battery to his wife and her reaction. Whereas shallow focus is used in close up shots to exaggerate the characters face, deep focus is used in long shot to provide wide and overall view of the action and surroundings. Besides the depth of field, the camera position or characters position is also important. When Mimis wife agrees with him saying that she has dishonored him and deserves to die, Mimi is standing and suffering from the dilemma between his affair and her affair. As he is standing in front of the camera and the high angle is used, the audience can focus on Mimis action and facial expression more than his wife who is sitting down with her head hanging down. On the other hand, camera angle is also important to make the narrative clearly and dramatically. Overall, when the camera shoots Mimi, the low angle is used to make him look stronger and dominant, but the reverse is true for his wife. Not only in this scene but also in the whole movie, Italian masculinity is an overriding atmosphere. In particular, when Mimi is trying to strangle and urge her to tell him the story, the camera shoots him through an extremely high angle. These different camera angles tell us the relationship of the upper and lower positions between Mimi and his wife, Rosalia. When they are talking about the story of Rosalias affair, the camera shoots reverse shot. However, when Mimi confesses his affair with Fiore to prove that he is not a fag and impotent, the camera shoots only Mimis face and does not show the wifes reaction. This shot makes the knife strike and her anger unexpected and a surprise. As a consequence, the conflict becomes maximized at the next shot wh ich Rosalia is trying to kill Mimi. 2. Sound track The extract begins with the noise of people who try to make him stop. This noise stopped slowly when Mimi is walking toward Rosalia. After the noise stopped, there is no noise or background music. Only Rosalias weeping and Mimis snarling are able to be heard. In fact, the weeping crosses over to noise from the people. The noise is getting quieter, but the weeping is getting louder. The silence is broken by Mimis shout and the loud noise of an engineering tool being thrown. Interestingly, although the noise of the people can be heard while they are talking, this disappears after the door is closed and not able to be heard by the characters and audience as well until their conversation is finished and the action is shown. This kind of silence often appears because the following conversation is very serious and important to construct the narrative. Therefore, it is possible to say that this silence encourages the audience to concentrate on the characters conversation. Some digetic sounds are exaggerated thorough putting non- digetic sounds together. For example, when Mimi slaps Rosalias cheek, the supplementary non digetic sound is added to the slapping sound. As a consequence, the sound of slapping becomes much louder and gives the audience more emotional effect. Above all, when the knife is flying through the air and sticks into the wood, the sound can not be heard in the real world. This is actually the non digetic sound as well. However, interestingly, this is more realistic and actual sound than real sound. The change of the digetic sound to non digetic sound via adding effective sound can emphasize the reaction which is followed by hearing the sound. The most important sound in this extract is the orchestral background music which starts just after the knife strikes. Rosalias shout and holding a knife is shown with the music. This magnificent music is a bit fast and waved. That kind of tempo and atmosphere is quite enough to match with the fight of the last shot. The volume of music goes up and it is maximized when they fight violently. This is because the fight is the most berserk and the explosive climax of the conflict between Mimi and Rosalia. In other words, this climax of the extract is reinforced by the effect of the musical score and, as a consequence, the audience can be tense. This is a good example how the sound supplies the impact of the visual narrative. The extract is finished when the noise of the people outside is appeared again little by little under the background music. That is, the extract is started and finished with the same noise which is digetic sound. It shows that not only the camera work or editing but also sound including music can provide consistency to the film. 3. Ideology The periodic background of this film is in the 1970s when most Italian male workers move to the North of Italy from the South to get better income and workers rights. This pattern of industrial culture results in the tragedy in the family such as infidelity to the spouse because of the separation from the family. Not only this but also social disorganization, for example the violence of Mafia, is rose according to political conflicts between communism and capitalism or consumerism. The Trade Union was very strong at this stage in Italy and if somebody is not joined in Trade Union or a communist party, he or she can be alienated amongst workers. In addition, the extension of womens rights was increasing in this period. As most male workers moved to the north, there were many opportunities to get a job and earn money for women in the South. The worldwide tendency of womens participation in social movement also influenced Italian women to change their thinking. Women in this period tried to discuss and solve the sensitive issues like abortion, sex or divorce. Therefore, in this movie, Rosalia is changed like other women. Rosalia obtained a job, changed her external shape such as hair style and learnt to drive. She is also dissatisfied with having sex with Mimi because he is impotent. These factors lead to her having the affair with Finocchiaro. However, the interesting progress in this scene is that Rosalia confesses her affair and she says she is bad and he is right. Because of her saying, Mimi is caught in the dilemma of upholding his honor between him feeling guilty about the affair with Fiore and the fury because of Rosalias affair. Even though Rosalia is changed physically, she is still a house wife in a patriarchal society and beaten by her husband. It is possible to say that this situation represents the anomie of traditional value versus changing attitudes in modern Italy. (At the beginning of this film, the scene which she washed the legs of her husband shows us how Italy was a serious patriarchal society). Through the quarrel, Mimi can look back at his life and realize the sense of futility and the fact that working in the North was not the way. This depicts the modern society as a destructive period of essential humanity and depersonalization. He meets many people in the movie and there are many relationships with him. However, as can be seen at the end of the film, he is alone and foreign to others. The modernization encourages the disintegration and makes people individualistic. After all, Mimi is a lonely and an alienated victim of the modern society.

Is the Banana Republic Credit Card Right For You Full Review

Is the Banana Republic Credit Card Right For You Full Review SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Banana Republic credit card is a solid option for frequent shoppers looking to earn points, but like many store brand cards, it’s not without it’s pitfalls. You may be wondering: what are the pros and cons of the Banana Republic credit card? Do I have to be a frequent shopper at Banana Republic to reap any benefits? What do users say about this card, and how does it stack up against similar cards? Is this card right for me? In this post, we’ll answer all these questions and more, doing an in-depth review of the Banana Republic credit card so you can make a fully informed decision about whether or not to apply. What Is the Banana Republic Credit Card? First, let’s discuss the basics. Banana Republic is one of the brands under the Gap, Inc. umbrella, which also includes The Gap, Old Navy, and Athleta. There are technically two Banana Republic cards: the Bananacard and the Banana Republic Visa Card. When you sign up, depending on your credit, you'll be given one of them. If you have poor to limited credit, you’ll be given the Bananacard. The Bananacard is a basic store card. A store card works like a credit card except it can only be used at the brand or umbrella brands that issues it. It won’t work if you try to use it to purchase anything anywhere else. So the Bananacard can only be used in-store or at any of the other Gap Inc. brands. If you have good credit, you’ll be given the the Banana Republic card. The Banana Republic card is an actual Visa credit card, so it can be used at any of those stores but also be anywhere else Visa is accepted. It’s a chip card with standard fraud protection services, and the primary cardholder can add an authorized user. Regardless of the card you get, you will receive 20% off your first purchase at any Gap, Inc. store by signing up. In this post, we will focus on the Banana Republic Visa card and its upgrade, the Banana Republic Luxe card. If you love to shop at BR, this could be a great card for you- but there are a few caveats! What Are the Banana Republic Credit Card Features and Rewards? As stated above, when you open a Banana Republic Visa credit card, you will receive a 20% discount off the first purchase made with that card at a Gap-branded store. Beyond that, each purchase made by the credit card earns points. Cardholders receive: 3,000 bonus points (worth $30) when you make your first purchase outside the Gap, Inc. brands five points for every $1 spent at any Gap, Inc. brand, and one point for every $1 spent elsewhere. no annual fee for the card These points can be used on purchases made both online and in person. If you don’t use the points during the billing cycle you earn them in, they are rolled over into the next cycle for up to two years before they expire. In addition to points, cardholders also receive: access to exclusive sales and events throughout the year at Banana Republic and their factory stores birthday coupons every Tuesday, 10% off at every affiliated store except Banana Republic Signing up for email account updates will get you 500 bonus points, and opting in for paperless statements gets you another 500, for a fairly easy $10 back. One big benefit of the Banana Republic Visa card is the lack of an annual fee. The Banana Republic Luxe Upgrade If the cardholder meets certain criteria, they can upgrade to the Banana Republic Luxe card. These criteria are that the cardholder: must earn 5,000 reward points annually, ie, spend $1,000 or more with it per year, must keep the account in good standing, and must make the minimum payments due. Luxe Upgrade Benefits The Luxe card offers some additional benefits that the regular visa doesn’t, including: a quarterly bonus of 20% of the points earned that quarter (a three-month period, so four times a year), once per quarter, a choose-your-own-sale day in which triple the regular points (15 points per dollar spent or 15% back) are awarded, free three-to-five-day shipping of online purchases at any of the Gap, Inc. brands, and unlimited alterations of Banana Republic merchandise. You have to use your Banana Republic Luxe card at least once per year at a Gap, Inc. store to maintain Luxe status. There is no annual fee on the Luxe card either. Free shipping is a great perk of the Luxe card for online shoppers! What are the Downsides of the Banana Republic Visa Card? The Banana Republic Visa card does have several drawbacks. The biggest downside is that, like most store credit cards, there is a very high interest rate charged on Banana Republic Visa cards, and there’s no reduced rates initially. They have a 25.24% APR, which is actually even higher than the 23.88% average for store credit cards. This means that you absolutely shouldn’t hold a balance from month to month: you should pay off your balance in full each month to avoid very high fees. Secondly, it should be noted that the points do expire after twenty-four months. You also can’t redeem more than 25,000 points (up to $250) in a single billing period or more than three rewards earnings on any one purchase. Together, these limitations make it necessary to redeem your points very regularly in the small amounts allowed in order to maximize your benefits. They do this because this encourages more frequent shopping on your part! Moreover, there is a 3% foreign transaction fee, so this card would not be a good choice to use abroad. Another thing to consider is that some of the promotions and coupons that cardholders receive get â€Å"leaked† online, so you can search for, find, and use the codes pretty easily via sites like Retailmenot. Finally, the card is issued by Synchrony Financial, and customer reviews for Synchrony aren’t that great. Many cardholders report confusing contract terms, slow response times when fixing statement inaccuracies, and bad customer service. However, it’s hard to find good reviews of any consumer financial services company, so take this with a grain of salt. Lots of people open store cards around the holidays to try and save money on gifts! The Bottom Line: Is the Banana Republic Card For Me? If you are a frequent or even a semi-frequent shopper at Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, or any of the Gap, Inc. brands, this card has a very competitive rewards structure and would be a good choice for you. The 5% cash-back on all of their many brands combined with the lack of annual fee make it good for shoppers looking to save money. Plus, the free shipping and alterations for Luxe cardholders are an excellent perk. Families with children and parents who frequently the many Gap, Inc. brands will find this card especially helpful. However, you need to be able to pay the full balance on the statement every month. Otherwise, with its extremely high APR, it will become more expensive than it’s worth. If you rarely shop at Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, or any of the Gap, Inc. brands, this card isn’t for you. The 1% points deal on all other purchases is only about average for a credit card, and you should be able to get better deals depending on where your money does go. Note that most retailer cards also have a high interest rate and no annual fee, so these perks won’t help you decide between store cards. But if you don’t shop at Gap, Inc. brands or any other one store or company that often, it’s a better idea to go for a more general credit card anyway, which often offer better financing options for those who need to carry a balance- especially considering that the "point" reward system will not be useful to you, since it's different from cash back. If you're thinking about getting the Gap visa card instead, note that the two cards are almost identical in terms of costs and benefits (very literally- the Gap card has the exact same rewards structure and it also applies to all Gap, Inc. brands). The only exception being on the first Tuesday of every month, Gap cardholders get 10% off at Gap.com and in Gap stores.