When we speak of different actor types one movie comes to mind that I can watch over and over again, and that is The Birdcage. The three actors I want to focus on in this blog would be Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Gene Hackman. The actor types they represent are the wildcard, the personality, and the star. 
        Although most people would debate the fact that Robin Williams is the star as opposed to Gene Hackman, however as we learn from our text tells us that the wild card is a star but also much more (Goodykoontz, 2014). He can identify as a star as he has won multiple awards for his long career including oscar for Good Will Hunting. He also can be considered an impersonator as he played both Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum and Dwight Eisenhower in The Butler; of course with roles like Genie in Aladdin and the one that made him famous, Mork in Mork and Mindy could only be described as the personality actor. Robin Williams definitely had a big personality but new how to rein it in when the role requires a more introverted personality. For these reasons that is why Robin Williams is the wildcard in the movie of The Birdcage.

        Nathan Lane is also quite the personality actor. In The Birdcage he plays an extremely dramatic flamboyant character. He is also known as Timon in Disney's  The Lion King and the house cat in Stuart Little. He has played in numerous broadway production of which you have to have a big personality to project your character across a large packed theater, I think it can be agreed upon that in The Birdcage, Lane definitely has the biggest personality in the cast. 

        The last actor type in this movie is the star, we get that in the actor Gene Hackman. Gene has a very long career, starting back in the early 1960's with an uncredited role in 1961. In his career Hackman has earned himself two oscar wins and three nominations as well as multiple Golden Globe wins. He has starred in such icon movies like The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, Superman, Hoosiers, and Crimson Tide. There can be no doubt that Gene Hackman can be considered a star actor. He can play in Sci-Fi movies like Superman, drama in the military movie of Crimson Tides and of course in comedies like The Birdcage. 

References:

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

Andreas Basler (May, 2007) The Birdcage, 1996. Clip retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfrhCvDLlCg

DesEquiLIBROS Rafael Ballesteros (Nov, 2008) The Birdcage, 1996. Clip retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYLk34GCXbo

Sound can play a very important in the overall feel of a film; this is especially true in the horror film genre. This is very true of the 1976 version of the movie The Omen, where sound helps the overall creepiness of the film. Our text tells us that “sound production would become as important a part of making a movie as any other” (Goodykoontz, 2014). There are three parts of that make up sound used in movies; the most well-known is of course dialogue. Dialogue is the talking between characters or by a narrator this helps to create the storyline and develop the plot of the movie. The second part would be sound effects; this of course is an important part of certain genres of films like science fiction or action movies. This would encompass explosions, the sounds of car chases, gun fire, and any other sound that would be made outside of dialogue. This helps enhance the viewing experience but making things seem more realistic. The last aspect of sound is music. Music is used to enhance the experience and can easily enrich the viewer’s emotions of a giving scene. In The Omen all of these features of sound are used to help create a terrifying experience while watching the movie.

            In scare used by sound starts from the very beginning of the move with the music of the opening credits. You know right away you what to expect from this movie, the creepy music along with the almost chanting of the lyrics makes my heart race just listening to it.It is also there when Mrs. Baylock kills Mrs. Thorn. 

          

  The film also uses dialogue not only the actual words being said to set the theme of the movie but how the words are spoken. Most of the dialogue is low and soft, especially when the nanny is speaking.

            One scene where sound effect is used well is the hanging scene. At first there is a lot of noise from the party but then as the nanny calls to Damien and it gets quiet and she jumps you hear the snap of the rope, the crashing glass, and as everyone stares in disbelieve you hear the creak of the swinging rope holding the lifeless body

            What makes all of these sounds more terrifying is that they are all realistic sounds that we would hear if we were there to hear them ourselves. I am not sure the movie would have been as scary to me without that haunting music and singing that appears in the film. Also if the dialogue was louder and faster it may have made for a lighter over all feel of the film.

References:

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

MovieTitleScreens, (May, 2013) The Omen 1976 – Clip retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rga3FBT6J2A

VideoT01, (July, 2011) The Omen 1973 - Clip retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzEqXPcDgT8

Richard Madnezz, (April, 2012) The Omen 1976 – Clip retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDHisWRsE98

         In the movie The Exorcist lighting is such a huge part of the feel of the movie. The movie is part of the supernatural horror genre and in that sense most of the scariest scenes are shot with low key lighting.One of the most iconic images showing classic low key lighting is the picture used in the advertising of the movie.

    In this picture we see the dark silhouette of the priest most of the picture draped in darkness. We have read from our test that one feature of low key lighting is "a single source of light, coming from the back or the side of the main characters" (Goodykoontz, 2014). This is very obvious in the picture above. That with the misty and grainy look of the picture gives the feeling of dread and foreboding. As the movie progresses we see them use dim low lighting where shadows are visible and as the scenes become more and more scary the lighting gets darker with more focused light to the actors from the back or side. The coloring of the film is also subdued and muted. Between the lighting and the use of muted color we get the overall feeling that things are not going to turn out well for some of the characters. In the following clip you can see how the lighting and color use is very much part of the mise en scene, 

If the cinematographer had chosen to use a more commercial three point lighting I do not believe we would have been so freaked out. Whats the first thing we do when alone and scared in the dark? We turn on the lights. Watching a scary movie is easier to get through if in watched in the daytime or with a house full of lights on, well done Owen Roizman.

References :

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

Image retrieved from website: 

https://verdoux.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/the-exorcist.jpg

daisyhinojosa23, (2010, Dec, 12) The Exorcist, Video retrieved from Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6nmnPfs3EQ