Week 4 – Blog – Acting and Acting Styles

The cast of Saving Private Ryan is dynamic!  From leading roles, to supporting roles to cameo appearances from actors such as Ted Danson who plays Captain Fred Hamill and Paul Giamatti as Staff Sergeant William Hill this film is full of actors who bring many different styles to help tell this story.

For this blog entry, I’ll discuss the acting styles of three specific actors, Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Edward Burns.

Thom Hanks:

Thom Hanks is a definitely a star actor that draws attention to any film he works in.  As far as acting style, he is more of a wild-card or character actor, especially when you compare the diverse roles he’s played.  Consider Bachelor Party; Forest Gump; The Da Vinci Code; Castaway: The Green Mile: and list goes on.  Thom Hanks can adapt to a comedian as in Bachelor Party, to a social outcast as in Forest Gump, to serious roles as with The Green Mile or Saving Private Ryan. Actors such as Hanks are “…able to fit invisibly into a wide variety of disparate characters, adapting to the needs of each script and director they work with, known as character actors.” (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014).

Matt Damon:

Matt Damon is another character actor who hasn’t really been typecast into any one role or type of role.  Although he recently has been cast in more action hero type roles after the his role as Jason Bourne.  He has also become a star like Thom Hanks and also draws the attention of audiences in what ever role he plays.  Matt Damon had played action hero’s; a thief, as well as serious roles and has the ability to work outside specific roles like other typecast actors.

Edward Burns:

Edward Burns is more of a personality actor.  Although he has played several different roles in movies such as The Brothers McMullen, She’s the One, and Sidewalks of New York, Edward Burns’ characters are all very similar.  He is usually cast as a typical guy from the Bronx who is quick on sarcasm.  Even as Private First Class Richard Reiben, he is a cocky kid from the Bronx who says what’s on his mind.

Of these three actors, who are all outstanding, Thom Hanks and Matt Damon are less likely to be typecast into anyone specific style or role.  Edward Burns, although talented, I believe will continue to play the cocky New Yorker regardless of the role he plays…which works because that is the character audiences expect from him.

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=saving+private+ryan&qpvt=saving+private+ryan&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=7D4C512EDC1E9F6B32EA9EEBB62948176EE56417&selectedIndex=1

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=saving+private+ryan&qpvt=saving+private+ryan&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=032174F4A6BE2D965E31485102877E50A1A2C995&selectedIndex=28

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=saving+private+ryan&qpvt=saving+private+ryan&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=19390483DF02DB4A960225C4F35414612CC79DC6&selectedIndex=36

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=saving+private+ryan&qpvt=saving+private+ryan&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=C24B12F2172289984964FF9EC6EA288A5FA7D00F&selectedIndex=101

Week 3 – Blog 1_ENG 225 – Sound

In the opening cemetery scene of Saving Private Ryan, director Steven Spielberg and the sound editor used different categories of sound editing to spark the emotional response of the audience.

As the scene opens, it starts with background music, referred to as the score, that evokes a sense of heroism or valor.  This sense of heroism is heightened as music fades and the sound of military drumming is heard.  The score itself starts the audience’s hart to pound as the United States Flag fades into the scene.  The sound editor used the music to invoke emotion into the viewers and prepare them for what they are about to experience.

As the scene unfolds, James Ryan (whom the audience has yet to identify as Private Ryan) is scene walking with a sense of purpose through the US cemetery in Normandy.  The music begins to change tempo as he identifies his targeted headstone of Captain Miller.

The sound editor also used diegetic sound effects to enhance the visual aspects as well.  “…sounds of spoken dialogue (or narration by a character in the story), natural sound effects matching sources seen on the screen, and any music that is being performed or heard by characters in the story is called diegetic.” (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014).  When the scene opens with the  American Flag blowing in the wind, sound effects were edited into the scene so the audience could hear the flag blowing.  This added to the emotional impact of the scene as well.  The editor also used natural sounds like birds chirping, and wind that presented a sense of calmness.  For me, this was symbolic of peace after the war.

One interested sound edit was when James Ryan turns and see the area of headstones he was looking for, the audience can hear the wind pick up which sparks a sense that something is about to happen or a queue that he found what he was looking for.

As for dialogue, the scene is really void of  any spoken dialogue until the very end when James Ryan gasps his family rung to him and ask if he’s alright.  The lack of spoken dialogue is key in this scene because is shows the pain and emotion he is felling on his return to Normandy and Europe.  In this case, less spoken dialogue actually spoke loudly!

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HUf68gFGEE

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=saving+private+ryan

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

Week 2 – Blog 1_ENG 225

The Benefits of strategic Lighting in Saving Private Ryan.

Mise en Scène is a term used in the film industry that refers to everything that a director uses to successfully tell the story in the film.  This term refers to props, actors, sets, and lighting.  “All the things we are looking at in the scene have been carefully chosen and placed there by the filmmakers to help tell the story to the audience in ways that do not require dialogue to explain anything. What we see is called the mise en scène..” (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014). A key element in Mise en Scène, lighting, is designed by the cinematographer to tell the story.

Director Steven Spielberg very successfully used lighting to tell the story in specific scenes of Saving Private Ryan.  What I mean by this statement is that  the carefully chosen lighting allows the audience to understand what was going on and connect with the feelings of the solders before any dialogue was spoken.

For example, in the Omaha Beach scene (below), the cinematographer used natural three point lighting to draw the audiences attention primarily to the characters instead of the background.  This effect causes the scene to be very bright for the most part, yet it still told the story of nervousness, fear and uncertainty felt by the soldiers getting ready to storm the beach.

The lighting switches to a bit darker scene when the soldiers begin to enter the water.  Not really a low-key lighting shot, but still darker.  This helps the audience feel the struggle of being under water, waited down by gear, yet light enough to see blood as it clouds the water after soldiers are shot.

The scene moves back to a lighter shot once the soldiers are moving up the beach , which again allows the audience to feel the soldiers fear, anxiousness, and confusion.  The lighting again, keeps the audience focused on the soldiers more than the background.

Although the lighting in the Omaha Beach scene is a bit lighter than you would find in other war drama films, the lighting really allows the audience to connect with and focus on the characters.  Had the cinematographer shot the scene any darker, I believe the audience would have struggled to connect with the story being told of the beach landing.

References:
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RTzi5Vt7w

Week 1, Blog 1_ENG 225

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Saving Private Ryan

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Written by Robert Rodat

Staring:

Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Mat Damon, and Tom Sizemore

Released in 1998

Plot:  Saving Private Ryan is set On the morning of June 6, 1944 at the beginning of the Normandy Invasion.  After an intense fight to secure the beachhead.  Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) learns he and his team have been selected to locate and bring Private James Ryan out of the combat.  The movie begins with War Department Clerks typing massive amounts of notifications to Next of Kin informing them of the deaths of loved ones.  When supervisor discovers that 3 brothers named Ryan were all killed in action, the Commanding General orders that the 4th brother, James Ryan be found and brought back home.  As Captain Miller and his team of soldiers begin their journey to locate Private Ryan, they learn things about themselves and the man they are to rescue.  They aren’t happy about it at first, however in the end, they form a special bond with each other, and the man they were tasked to save.

Story:

The story is really about the bond that soldiers have with each other vs. finding Private Ryan.  After Captain Miller is informed he must select a few men to accompany him on the mission to find Private Ryan, he has to chose a administrative clerk (Corporal Upham) who has not seen combat.  At first the group fought together on the beaches during the invasion, have no patience for him , however by the end of the mission he earns their respect.  The story depicts the struggle these men face in combat and with their ability to endure and complete their mission.  Saving Private Ryan is more than a war movie, it is a story of humanity, overcoming obstacles and the brotherhood of soldiers.

This film is presented in chronological order, “events in the movie’s plot follow the same order (although not necessarily the same duration) in which they would occur in the story, the order of real time.”  (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).  The story begins during or prior to the Normandy invasion.  It then moves to the invasion itself and continues on into days and weeks after the invasion as Captain Miller and his team travel through Europe in their search for Private Ryan.  The aesthetics of the film let the viewer feel the intensity of combat as well connect with the characters as they travel day and night to find Private Ryan.  As the story unfolds, the viewer learns about each character, where they came from, whet they believe in and how dedicated they are to each other.

Had the director used a different style or format in this movie, such as omitting the invasion scene, the audience would not be able to connect with the soldiers as much and would have lost the intent of the story. 

References:
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint http://www.afi.com/10top10/moviedetail.aspx?id=24&thumb=1Education, Inc.