Engl: Exam #2

Kazuo Ishiguro

Author born in 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan, who moved to England in 1960. Winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature and writer of 7 novels, including Never Let Me Go.

Ishiguro’s Writing Styles and Themes

Features first-person unreliable narration, genre experimentation, cross-cultural conflicts, and psychological disavowal.

Psychological Disavowal

A psychological state where characters repress reality while choosing to believe in something impossible, often framed as: I know very well that x is not y, but nonetheless I choose to believe that x is y.

Mise-en-scene

A French theatrical term meaning “place on stage” , referring to everything that appears before the camera, including the artful arrangement of actors, scenery, lighting, and props.

3 point lighting system

A standard lighting setup consisting of a key light (dominant source), fill light (softens shadows), and back light (provides depth)

High Key lighting

A lighting scheme where the key and fill lights are closely balanced in intensity, limiting shadows.

Low Key lighting

A lighting scheme where the key light is much brighter than the fill, creating deep pools of shadow.

Expressionistic Lighting

Lighting designed specifically to express the psychological experience of characters.

Mark Romanek

Director of the film adaptation Never Let Me Go, who has a background in music videos, commercials, and writing/directing One Hour Photo.

Alex Garland

Screenwriter for the film Never Let Me Go, who enhanced its science-fiction aspects and is a close friend of Kazuo Ishiguro.

Barriers in Never Let Me Go Film.

Scenery, lighting, and prop light windows, walls, fences, and doorways used to emphasize emotional and physical barriers between characters.

P.D. James

Author of The Children of Men, born Phyllis Dorothy James in 1920, who used initials to remove gender distinction and was renowned for writing complex mystery novels.

Themes of P.D. James

Vivid, realistic settings, complex non-stereotyped characters, unhappy love and marriage, loneliness and alienation, realistic depictions of death, and ambiguous resolutions.

Part 1: Omega (The Children of Men)

The opening section exploring science vs. religion, featuring protagonist Theo Faron, Omegas, The Five Fishes, The Quietus suicide ritual, and the Sojourner immigrant underclass.

Part II: Alpha (The Children of Men)

The concluding section featuring Julian’s miraculous birth in a barn, Luke’s death, Theo killing Xan, donning Xan’s coronation ring, and baptizing the baby.

Camera movement

techniques used by directors instead of cuts to invite the audience to see how characters, places, and things are connected.

Pan

Moving the camera horizontally from a stationary point.

Tilt

Moving the camera vertically from a stationary point.

Tracking shots

Shots where the camera physically moves alongside characters or objects through space.

Dolly vs. Steadicam vs. Handheld

Dolly is mounted on a wheeled platform; Steadicam uses a body-mounted shock-absorbing ring; Handheld is held directly or via a shoulder ring by the operator.

On-screen Character Movement Meanings

Up signifies joy/power/authority; Down signifies grief/death/weakness; Left-to-right feels natural and good; Right-to-left goes against the grain, creating tension or evil.

Frame Rates and Speed Manipulation

Film runs at 24 frames per second; slow motion is created by overcranking (filming at >24 fps); fast motion is created by undercranking (filming at < 24 fps)

Camera Lenses: Normal lens

approximates human vision

Camera Lenses: Telephoto lens

compresses distance

Camera Lenses: Wide-angle lens

exaggerates depth

Camera Lenses: Zoom lens

changes focal length without moving the camera

Rack focus

changing the focus from one depth plane to another within a single continuous shot.

Long take

Any shot that runs longer than the standard 8-12 seconds without a cut, increasing audience anxiety.

Alfonso Cuaron

Global Mexican filmmaker born in 1961, known for long takes, moving camera, realism, and directing Children of Men, Gravity, and Roma.

Cultural References in Children of Men (Film)

Includes T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland (Shantih chant), Michelangelo’s David and Pieta, Pink Floyd’s flying pig, Picasso’s Guernica, and street art by Banksy.