Mindbending Movie Scenes

http://www.totalfilm.com/features/30-mindbending-movie-scenes/

I've taken this article from totalfilm.com about mind-bending movie scenes that i've either seen or i've picked out in particular because i want to see them. I purposely picked out a variety of movies from different periods of time from as early as the 1940's  with Hitchcocks Spellbound. Vfx has come a long way in the last few years, and even more so over the last 70 years, but the aim to effect an audience in an uncomfortable mannor has the same principles.

Knocked Up (2007)

The Scene: Cirque du Soleil on mushrooms… sounded like a good idea at the time, didn’t it chaps? Oh dear…

The Crazy: Grotesque French clowns, made all the more grotesque thanks to Judd Apatow’s fish-eye lens. No wonder the boys head straight back to the hotel afterwards!

Natural Born Killers (1994)

The Scene: The diner sequence, in which Mickey and Mallory lay waste to a posse of rednecks in supremely grisly style.

The Crazy: As the camera lurches woozily around the diner, rapidly flipping between colour and black and white, you can tell that a storm is brewing. And when it finally arrives, its quite the head-rush!

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

The Scene: Sara hallucinates that she’s watching herself compete on her favourite game show, while her fridge steadily makes its way from the kitchen towards her armchair.

The Crazy: Things get increasingly upsetting as Sara’s fragile grasp on reality steadily begins to ebb away, and her fantasy life comes ramming into her consciousness with extreme prejudice.

Spun (2002)

The Scene: Brittany Murphy and Jason Schwartzman get their tweak on as they cruise round LA whilst completely out of their heads.

The Crazy: It's jump-cuts ahoy as the audience gets a look inside the minds of a pair of meth users. Not advisable for sufferers of the jitters…

The Shining (1980)

The Scene: As poor old Wendy Torrance tries to make her escape, she stumbles upon a man in a bear suit giving a spot of oral relief to a fellow partygoer. Whuh?

The Crazy: It’s a moment of purest surrealism that totally throws the audience for a loop in the middle of an already hugely tense sequence!

Spellbound (1945)

The Scene: Gregory Peck recounts the bizarre dreams he's been having, in which a sinister masked man stalks him at every turn.

The Crazy: Dream sequences often give a director license to go a little "out there", and Hitchcock doesn't waste the opportunity, hiring Salvador Dali to construct his dreamscapes.

Zoolander (2001)

The Scene: A gloriously silly bit of head-scrambling, as Mugatu brainwashes Zoolander in supremely daft fashion. Just look at that dog…

The Crazy: It might be played for laughs, but this is still a pleasingly surreal affair, even if it largely revolves around Will Ferrell shouting!

Trainspotting (1996)

The Scene: Renton feels the full force of heroin withdrawal as his parents lock him in his bedroom and force him to go cold turkey…

The Crazy: The horrifying, bloated baby crawling across the ceiling is enough to put you off drugs for life. Stay n school, kids!

Across The Universe (2007)

The Scene: A brain-scrambling circus scene in which Ringmaster Mr. Kite presides over a bizarre menagerie indeed. Come back Zippo, all is forgiven…

The Crazy: Clowns are a bit scary at the best of times, but these take it to the next level. Yikes!

Enter The Void (2010)

The Scene: The entire movie probably qualifies, but we'll opt for the sequence set within a woman's birth canal. which will buzz around your brain long after the credits have rolled.

The Crazy: Watching a sex scene from inside a woman's  body as the camera follows the semen's journey to the ovum, is quite an experience...

Dumbo (1941)

The Scene: Pink elephants on parade. What exactly were those animators smoking, we wonder?

The Crazy: The discordant music is pretty disorientating on its own, but pared with the grotesquely distorted elephants, its doubly effective.

Easy Rider (1969)

The Scene: Our freewheeling heroes decide to drop some acid in New Orleans. It's quite fun to begin with, and then you get the feeling they'd probably quite like it to stop.

The Crazy: Quick-fire editing, strange imagery and a sprinkling of nudity is the perfect way to recreate the mania of a heavy dose of acid.

Vertigo (1958)

The Scene: Scotty's famously trippy nightmare, in which our hero finds his sleep disturbed by some very lurid imagery, as designed by expressionist artist John Ferren.

The Crazy: The close-up on the locket, complete with flashing colours and Carlotta's disconcerting stare, is disturbing in the extreme.

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)

The Scene: The boys attempt to check into a Vegas hotel  while tripping their nuts off. Needless to say, it doesn't run entirely smoothly, particularly since the receptionist appears to be transforming into a dragon!

The Crazy: "There is no way of explaining the terror I felt," says Depp's character. And who can blame him?

Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

The Scene: Wonka takes his party of visitors on a nightmarish boat trip through a psychedelic tunnel of horrors. Do not adjust your sets…

The Crazy: The whole sequence feels as if it's been lifted from an avant-garde horror movie rather than a slice of wholesome family entertainment.

Chad Diez & Art Hall: Drive

The Producer

Julie Corman describes the precautions and lists of events prior to producing a movie.

The role of a producer is a very important figure in the film crew. 

Creating a Montage

Montages consist of a set of scenes that show the passage of time, a progression of events, or an emotional transition. Dialogue is usually replaced by a song or a composed score. Whether you are an aspiring professional or a seasoned filmmaker, there are a number of rules for successful montage-making.

Instructions

1. Pre-Production

   • 1
     Plan the most effective way to film the scenes in your montage. Consider the resources that you have available to you (e.g. locations, on-screen talent), and what you want your montage to communicate. If your montage is designed to illustrate a plot of some kind, be sure that the information is presented to in a fast-paced but easily understood way. Or, if the goal of your montage is to establish a tone or an emotional development, think through how to be consistent in things like lighting, props and scenery since consistency will help convey your message.
   • 2
     Type up the individual scenes or sequences of your montage into a computer-based screenwriting program. If you are writing the montage for another director, avoid unnecessary direction, such as details about camera work or angles. Begin by typing the word "MONTAGE," using all caps in the top-left side of the screen. If you decide to title your montage, place a hyphen after the word "MONTAGE," and then type your title in all caps. For example, a montage named "A Day at the Factory" would appear on the page this way: "MONTAGE - A DAY AT THE FACTORY."
   • 3
     Decide which of the montage formatting techniques you want to use. Typically, montages are formatted similarly to the "Series of Shots" method, which describes a list of shots that occur in the same location. For example, after typing the scene heading, order each shot with either a number, a letter or two hyphens, before describing each shot. This is how the list of shots might appear on the page:

     INT. -- WAREHOUSE -- DAY

     1) The group looks around at the trashed Warehouse and rolls up their sleeves.

     or

     A) The group looks around at the trashed Warehouse and rolls up their sleeves.

     or

     -- The group looks around at the trashed Warehouse and rolls up their sleeves.

     List the rest of the montage shots in your preferred format.
   • 4
     Familiarize yourself with screenplay formatting rules for montages taking place in several locations. You can signify and/or title the montage as described in Step 3 and proceed with the Series of Shots formatting, typing a new location in all caps before the description of the shot. For example:

     -- PRINCIPAL`S OFFICE. Cheryl distracts Mr. Fussbudget.

     -- HALLWAY Damien and Carol sneak by undetected, the rival mascot tucked away in a duffel bag.

     If the multiple-location montage is relatively short, or has only two or three locations, you can simply leave the sequence in traditional formatting with new subheads. For example:

     INT. PRINCIPAL`S OFFICE -- DAY

     -- Cheryl distracts Mr. Fussbudget.

     INT. HALLWAY -- DAY

     -- Damien and Carol sneak by undetected, the rival mascot tucked away in a duffel bag.

     If the montage is taking place in different areas of one location, describe the action in paragraph form. For example:

     INT. DANCE HALL -- NIGHT
     Focus on Marty and Sheryl dancing romantically at the center of the dance floor. Chip and his Goons stand nearby sneering until Chip walks away, past Seth and Miranda sharing an awkward silence at the punch bowl. Seth does a little dance move and Miranda laughs, extending her hand. Seth takes her hand and they move to the dance floor.
   • 5
     Write the script once you are comfortable with the formatting techniques. List the shots in the order that they will be seen during the final cut of the film. Write a description of the shots in straightforward, succinct language. Use present tense, action words and proper punctuation. Signal that your montage is over by typing, "END OF MONTAGE" or "RETURN TO SCENE" in all capital letters.
   • 6
     Create a storyboard, or a drawn visual representation of each shot, for your montage. The storyboard should roughly match what the final filmed montage will look like. Make adjustments if the storyboard brings to your attention logistical gaps to your script.
   • 7
     Plan the shoot using the storyboard and script. Make a list of shots by location, and note what actors, props, costumes, lighting and scenery will be needed at each venue.

   Production and Post-Production

   • 8
     Film scenes that take place at one location all at once, and then move on to the next location. It's ideal to have a script supervisor on set to track continuity, which can be particularly important in a passage-of-time montage.
   • 9
     Begin editing by opening your computer-based editing software and retrieving the footage from your camera. Order the footage in the five-track "timeline" of your editing program, which can usually be found at the bottom of the screen. Video footage is typically loaded into the first track of the timeline.
   • 10
     Make adjustments to the video track to ensure that the duration of each shot is similar to what you planned during the storyboarding stage. Using the editing program's tool bars, add any desired effects (for example, fading in or out of scenes, dissolving from one shot to the next), or transitions (for example, wipes, split screens or overlapping images).
   • 11
     Import music into the editing program. Align the video footage (typically, the first track in the timeline) with the audio (typically, the second track). Play the video and audio footage simultaneously to ensure that they match up. You will likely need to adjust the video footage slightly and manually fade out the audio at the end of the montage.
   • 12
     Play your montage to make sure that the video and audio are in sync, that the effects and transitions work correctly, and that the montage conveys the sequence, tone or emotional growth that you had envisioned. Finalize the montage by saving it, locating the editing program`s "Burn DVD" icon, and making copies of your masterpiece.

Tips & Warnings

• Film more "coverage," or footage, than you think you need. This will provide you with more options when you are editing the montage. If music or dance sequences are part of your montage, bring music recordings to the set to create the proper mood and to serve as a guide for your performers

Edinburgh Film Festival

Applying for a designer placement roll for all departments at Edinburgh Film Festival 2013

Visualizing ‘Django Unchained’

By MEKADO MURPHY

Andrew Cooper/The Weinstein CompanyThe cinematographer Robert Richardson on the set of “Django Unchained.”

The cinematographer Robert Richardson has partnered with some of America’s most high-profile and visually driven  directors. His accolades include Academy Awards for his work with Oliver Stone (“J. F. K.”) and Martin Scorsese (“The Aviator” and “Hugo”). Now “Django Unchained,” his fourth film with Quentin Tarantino, has garnered him another nomination, but Mr. Richardson says his job is always to put the director’s goals above his own.

“My career is based primarily upon finding a balance with a director and their vision,” he said, speaking by phone from Malibu. “And that means sublimating my own personal ego toward their material. It’s far better to shoot a good picture than a good-looking picture.”

Of course, Mr. Richardson’s directors tend to be interested in work that is both good and good-looking. His collaborations with Mr. Tarantino include the two-volume action spectacle “Kill Bill” and the explosive war movie “Inglourious Basterds.” With “Django Unchained,” a period mashup of the western and  blaxploitation genres that focuses on slavery, the director had ideas about the film’s look that would require a particular kind of photographic expertise. He trusted Mr. Richardson, who here discusses some of the elements and challenges that went into shooting the film.

Andrew Cooper/The Weinstein CompanyJamie Foxx, right, during the shooting of a scene from “Django Unchained.”

Emphasizing Colors

To capture the antebellum South in bold ways, Mr. Tarantino was drawn to bold colors.

“Most of Quentin’s film’s have a pop approach to the use of vibrant color, which is quite in opposition to the majority of work being done in cinema,” Mr. Richardson said. “That was a tremendous shift for me because I had to move from what I’m normally more prone to use, which is a muted palette, to one that’s fuller.”

Color is  difficult  for cinematographers to control, particularly in exterior shots. Mr. Richardson made sure that the film’s bright colors wouldn’t be distracting and pull the viewer’s eye in too many directions.

Andrew Cooper/The Weinstein CompanyThe crew shooting “Django.”

The Anti-John Ford

When it came to locations, Mr. Tarantino was not interested in the many vibrant landscape shots found in most American westerns.

“Quentin did not want to utilize these beautiful locations,” Mr. Richardson said, adding later, “He wanted them to be hints, a little bit of spice here and there, and then they were gone. He was not looking for John Ford.”

Instead, the goal was to have the locations push the narrative forward through montages, in which Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) teaches Django (Jamie Foxx)  how to be a bounty hunter. These scenes were shot in the mountains of  Wyoming. “We utilized the beauty of Jackson Hole, but without making it a postcard at every opportunity. Quentin’s work is not about scenics, it’s about words.”

Andrew Cooper/The Weinstein Company

Lighting the Night

Nighttime shots for cinematographers are frequently a challenge, particularly with film stock, which is still the medium of choice for Mr. Tarantino. One scene involves an evening encounter with an early version of the Ku Klux Klan. The sequence required some tricky lighting to capture images of torch-wielding characters on horseback along with hints of their surroundings. Giant lamps called “moons,”  hovering 145 feet above the ground, shined down on the set to illuminate the landscape. Other lights  on the side gave further texture to the location. “It is an extraordinarily complex and expensive lighting setup,” Mr. Richardson said.

The Weinstein CompanySamuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Django Unchained.”

Interior Challenges

The lighting of some interior shots presented other challenges that came from choices in makeup and color tones. Samuel L. Jackson, who played the house slave  Stephen,  wore makeup to create a darker-skinned look and prosthetics to make him look older. Those additions  made him difficult to light in certain moments where he shares the screen with the plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

“Skin naturally reflects and moves in a way that makeup doesn’t,” Mr. Richardson said. “So we had to figure out a way to light him.” He and his team decided to put lights a little closer to Mr. Jackson to raise his light value. “Because the primary story circles slavery, of course every shot will, in one way or another, deal with the contrast of black and white. That was a balancing act. I hope we succeeded.”