In the Wasp, the cinematography all through the film is primarily hand-held shots or unstable cam. The utilization of handheld shots to include authenticity is exceptionally successful. It gives a narrative look of the film. I don't think I saw a still shot all through the film and that helps by making authenticity. Likewise, the shading revision of the film gives this lumpy harsh look. This gives a knowledge of the subject. The subject of living in a harsh situation, henceforth why the shading remedy looks to a great degree unsaturated.
Braedan Snow: Wasp by Andrea Arnold This short film relied very heavily on visuals. The fact that it is comprised of extremely shaky handheld shots makes it seem like it is a documentary of some sort, and gives it a perspective from the characters point of view like you are right in there with the action of the film. Although it was hard to adjust to at first, I think the technique of using the hand held shots were very effective in portraying authenticity of the film; it made the story come to life in a way that most films can not do. The shots appear to be effortless and careless in their manor, but you can tell each shot was specifically planned to add to the atmosphere created, and this is what makes it stand out from a documentary. Each shot seems to be perfectly unplanned. Not only were the shots authentic, but the story was shockingly realistic. Arnold did not hold back anything with this film, and by breaking boundaries she managed to cause emotion in the viewer. The mood was immediately set up within the first scene, where all the children are running through a dirty and sketchy stairwell. They all look dirty and malnourished, and most importantly sad. Shortly following the mom gets in a brawl with another woman while the children sit idly by, indicating that they have been through this enough times to be used to that kind of behavior. The viewer can really sympathize with the children, but also the single stressed out mom. Overall the film was both visually and emotionally powerful in a way that most films do not accomplish.
The Wasp is a film that has many close ups along the way. I liked the shot of her feet, when, I think, he was trying to say that she is lying. If we think about it, it does not make any sense, but that totally worked in telling the audience that she is lying. I wonder what else could work to show audience that she is lying, I guess anything with weird movement can work in it. I agree with what Fran and Braedan said about the hand held, Andrea really made it work in the film, it does not seem to bother anybody or zoned them out of the narrative. It was very well planned and intended use of hand held. It also looked like kind of the film which takes its time to get audiences understanding. It is confusing at first, and more with the unguessable title like WASP, and hardly have any shots of a real Wasp in it. The story was the kind of story which needed really good cinematography as well as intelligent direction, and it was very well done by the makers. I think, by trying to make it classy or more proper would have killed the vibe of the story. The story was harsh and it demanded some slapdash looking direction. It was a difficult story very well told.
Anthony Reed: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold I don't know if the handheld look was on purpose or the director just used what resource she had. It seems fitting because the unsettling look of the handheld shots are just as unsettling as the condition of the family in the film. The coloring gave me the impression that this film was older than what it is. Again maybe that was a style choice to match the poor condition of the family. This is one of those film that I don't quite understand. On one hand the film looks cheap but on the other there are people who will see this as a great film and speak highly of the Director. It's in an instance like this where I don't understand how the professional critics judge what is trash or art. I would like to know from the professors point of view what makes this film worthy enough for us to watch it.
Sam Flowers : The Wasp Overall, I enjoyed the story of this film. I think it is a scary representation on how human nature can sometimes be dark. The main character put herself before the kids, whom were not capable of looking after themselves. Although I was not a fan of the film as a whole. The handheld shots were not a good feel to this film. Im not sure if this was because of poor budgeting from the filmmakers or on purpose to give the film a narrative feel, but it did not go well with the film. Other than that, good acting and story though.
Dylan Milinkovich: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold This short film overall was pretty good and really focused on some struggles. It follows a single mother of four kids who struggles to provide for them and puts herself first. She wants to go on a date for the first time in a long time and puts her kids life in danger to do so. The whole film has shaky cam going on making sort of match the chaos that is always happening in the film. The dialogue is very simple so the film relies on the visuals of whats happening. The title of the film "Wasp" makes an appearance throughout the film with the ending being about the wasp on the babies mouth. After the scare, she realizes that she has been treating them unfairly with the situation putting them last. She should have told her date from the beginning the truth. Overall, I enjoyed the film but made me feel somewhat uncomfortable with the situations from time to time.
Nick Stellon: The Wasp The Wasp is a film which explores life through a socioeconomic lens. It gives an example of what life is like as a single mother of four, without enough money to raise them. The story is simple and it takes place in the course of a day, but it uses strategic elements to show the family's status. The lack of shoes, and the hardship to find food for the children proves demonstrates in a visual way how the family doesn't have money. The character of the oldest child serves the purpose of taking care of the family when the mother is absent, and it's written in such a way to get the most out of a child actress. The acting from the mother really carries the story, and you can see on her face the decisions that weigh on her. I thought an interesting choice with this film was how it was shot. It's handheld, gritty nature shows the world in a way that seems fitting. It is not painted as cinematically beautiful, because it isn't supposed to be. It is a shaky world for these children to grow up in, and the handheld movements demonstrate that to the audience. Overall this film had an excellent story, and the way it was carried out made it even better.
Karenya Garrett: Wasp by Andrea Arnold This film, I thought, was very interesting in the sense of it was not controlled. The use of hand-handle shots added more to the story of a single mother and her journey. With four kids, she tries to do the best with what she has and putting them first while also attempting to regain a social life by going on the date with the ex-boyfriend. The use of hand-handle and the shaky camera shows the chaos the mother has of attempting to make any sort of balance within her life. The dialogue was simple and that it flowed with chaos and that everything was visually based to really create the impact. The title "Wasp" , though the insert comes towards the end, signifies the mother's chaotic life and how her decisions affect her children I thought was a clever symbol to tie the story of the film together. All in all, the visual and emotional impact made by the film was very clear and I enjoyed it.
The Wasp was an overall good short film. The handheld aspect really added to the tone of the film. I think it would look like a totally different if it was taped with a steady non moving camera. The color and effect while filming also adds to the tone greatly. Also the props and costumes for the movie show you how well the director put her image together. the main character walking around barefoot shows you they are not a wealthy family and don’t have a lot. Overall the film gave a very powerful message about the life of a single mother raising small children.
Alex Hubbard: Wasp by Andrea Arnold The style in which Wasp by Andrea Arnold was filmed was the largest statements in the piece. The filming embodied the story in its entirety. The camera movements were rough, unpolished, and hectic, much like Zoe's character. If this film would have been recorded with a still camera, with little to no movement, it would have been an entirely different film. The hectic nature of the film would have been lost, solely relying on Zoe for the frantic nature of the piece. The handheld filming lets the viewer feel as if they're seeing a raw, unedited world. It gave the film an honesty that could not have been portrayed as well with a stationary camera.
Virginia Nobles: Wasp is a short film about a very bad mother who cares more about having a date with a guy than the safety and care of her children. She ends up going on a date with this guy after she lies to him and tells him her kids are just a friend's kids that she's looking after. Not able to find anyone to watch her children, she brings them with her to the bar and makes them wait outside while she's on her date. Seeing some men drop food on the ground, the hungry kids go and share it between them which eventually attracts a wasp. The wasp crawls into the baby's mouth making the other children call for their mother who is busy hooking up with the man in his car. After the mother gets out and runs to check on the kids, the guy, Dave, makes his way over and realizes that they're her kids. Being a nice guy, Dave doesn't get angry and takes her and the children to get food and drives them home. The picture quality is not the best and some of the shots are a little shaky but overall it has good composition. The mother made me pretty angry.
The shaky camera shots made sense when the film started out with a fight scene that was very hectic. The shaky shots continued throughout the film though. This was not surprising though as the film revolves around a mother who is unstable herself. This adds a lot of character to the film. It was a very good stylistic decision by the director. Overall, I was not a huge fan of this film. It wasn’t bad I just didn’t really enjoy watching it.
Tyler Mcilwain: Wasp by Andrea Arnold From the beginning of the film I noticed some shaky camera shots but immediately decided I liked this technique and thought it added to the narrative. This was an emotional watch. The actors performed great and carried the story very well. The amount of closeups and extreme closeups added to the film tremendously. The tighter the shot, the more intimate the piece seemed. The framing of this film adds drama to the narrative and gives you a glimpse at an unstable mother. Having shaky or poor quality shots added to the story because the lives of the characters reflected the same characteristics. The colors are not very vibrant as well. This shadows the mood of the film or the way the children may see the world living in poverty. Things like the baby unclothed, the passing of the flower, the fight scene, and the mothers costumes all were genius details in the film and forced the audience to doubt the mother and have an emotional connection with the children. The wasp appears throughout the film but mainly toward the end. This was an interesting way to pull her from the male, give her a wake up call, and tie the characters together at the end. Overall great film!
Kat Flandermeyer: The Wasp The video work on this film was very early-2000's shot through a potato- it had the grainy effect from early digital cameras and the deep-shadowed night lighting. It was a little shaky as well, clearly handheld. I liked it as an effect, though. The story was messy and it was reflected in the camera work. The child actors were probably the best actors in the whole story, simply for the miracle of wrangling four kids under 10 to do what was asked of them. They didn't overact like a lot of kid actors will do. I would describe the plot as more of a character study of the mother- we never see the conclusions of a lot of it. We don't know the full details of the fight with the other mother or what Dave does at the end. We can only guess at the mother's motivations for hiding her children from him. Even still, we learn a lot about her as a person just by observing a single day in her life. Her kids are ancillary to her life, but she does still care about them when she thinks she's about to lose them. The wasp was a nice touch (and seeing a wasp wrangler in the credits made me giggle). It was there, unimportant, at first, providing a nice bit of foreshadowing. It's also the sort of threat that would never have posed itself had the mother been with her kids. She would have seen it and killed it early; but her neglect makes something so small as a bug dangerous. The complexity of the characters makes for a really intriguing film. I just wish I knew more about them.
This film was unsettling and hard to watch. I liked the decision to keep the colors dull. I think it reflects on the hardship and struggles of the single mother of four children. The shaky camera was also a good addition in my opinion. It shows how rough and hectic this woman's life is. If this film consisted of bright colors and still camera shots, you would get a whole different feeling behind the story. I like how it ended with the audience guessing what will happen to the family next. I am left wondering if Dave will stick around and help the girls out. It's hard to decide whether this story ended on a good note or a terrible one. I suppose it's up to the audience to decide.
Ella Oprandy: Wasp by Andrea Arnold Tension is the cornerstone of this short film: from the altercation in the very first scene to the apprehension regarding money throughout as well as Zoe's decision to conceal her true maternal relationship to the kids from Dave, pressure builds exponentially, almost palpably. As the viewer, I felt an uneasiness throughout the film in that the all the pressure that Arnold spent time building could, and would, explode at any moment, which it finally did in the final appearance of the wasp. At parts, this film was startling, specifically when the children were seemingly forced to essentially scavenge for scraps outside the bar. I wasn't expecting it to be such a crucial element in eventually attracting the wasp which set of the fear-filled climax of the film. I did wonder about the meaning behind the reoccurrence of the insect: was it a nod to the main character Zoe's overall aggression, in love and in parenting? Or was is it a reference to the acronym standing for White Anglo-Saxon Person? As far as the more technical elements of the film, the handheld shooting technique adds to the sense of hectic dysfunctional turbulence that makes up most of this family's life in a lower economic class.
Kyle Heinze: Wasp by Andrea Arnold The beginning of the story shows the seemingly everyday chaos experienced by this abnormal family. This part also established the relationships the main character has with her young children. The lack of video quality and instability of many of the shots further enhances this overall feeling of insanity and nonstop action. The dialogue and visual elements make the film's plot easy to follow and understand. The majority of the film is centered around establishing this hectic mood, which I feel translates to the audience very well, and allows us to create a sort of emotional connection to the characters, whether we like them or not.
Jimmy Pierce: The Wasp I loved the use of shaky cam in this movie, which is odd, because shaky cam is usually something I loathe. But the many extreme close-ups, shaky cam, focus pocus and greenish tinting really added to the emotional content of the film. The camera, for all it's wobblin', was used very deliberately, spooning out information in a piecemeal fashion and adding a lot of tension to the film. You really get a feel for this very authentic-feeling poverty, and you always feel deeply connected with the characters' P.O.V. Plus, it's a testament to the acting and writing that no matter what questionable behavior our protagonist engages in, we always feel a lot of sympathy for her. As the film goes on, there's an excellent sense of mounting dread when day becomes night and we cut between the kids and the couple. The climax with the titular wasp is terrifying, and the ending is sad, funny, sweet and hopeful. Consider my emotions successfully jerked around. Thumbs up.
Keri Drake: Wasp by Andrea Arnold I definitely did not expect The Wasp to start the way it did honestly so that was quite suspenseful to me showing how a mother would do anything to protect and take up for her children. I think the hand held camera movement really change the entire theme of the film and set a tone for it showing how it is an everyday life of a single mother and her 4 children. The close up of the wasp lets you know that is It about to play a significant role in this piece and it have a purpose that we have yet to see. Although I did not agree when the mother was trying to reconnect with an ex boyfriend while leaving her children outside unattended basically taking care of their selves. It is like she was blinded by the fact of having attention shown to her again by a man she completely forget what mattered the most. The big sister looked out for her siblings while her mother did what she did with Dave. The wasp at the end went into the baby's mouth and it made sensed because the shot earlier showed the wasp and the baby so it all comes together now. The entire film as a whole was well put together and told a story that is happening in everyday life across the world. The shots were set up and shot perfectly even with the hand held camera. The emotions showed at the end felt so real, definitely wonderful actors as well.
The entire film was shot hand held. At first I was put off by this as in our assignment we are typically marked down for shaky movement. Having finished the film I understand it's use. The shakiness was done to emphasis the instability of the mother and her children. The opening fight scene drew the audience in with the fast camera pans to create tension and make us feel as though we are in the middle of the fight. As the woman gets more involved with David, the camera becomes more stable and shows how she is trying to put on this fake facade for him. The setting was dirty. Like that of a David Fincher film. The children we matted and filthy to emphasize how the mother didn't have nor put in the effort to take care of them well. The other mothers dressed more appropriately while she presented herself trying to be the young single chick she is no longer. The majority of shots are dim as well, adding to the grimness of the characters as well as their outlook on life. The scene where the girls eat the thrown away food was emphatic in just how low the mother had sucked that her daughters were literally eating scraps to make it by. Like Gone Baby Gone, I loathed the mother.
Miranda Fulmore: Wasp by Andrea Arnold I will say that this film definitely pulled at my heart strings. I felt for the kids, I felt for mom and I even kind of felt for David in the end. It was an interesting story line and in reality some peoples lives are like that. My heart hurt for the kids the whole way through and I will say that I constantly had anxiety because I honestly thought something worse was going to happen to them.
However, I will say that I sort of felt for the mom as well. Even though, I don't agree with her actions of bringing the kids to the bar, spending the rest of her money on beer or leaving her kids unsupervised, I do still feel for her. I felt for the situation. What was she supposed to do? Even though I don't think she took care of them properly at all I still could see that she cared about them so much but has obviously been put in a difficult situation. I could be wrong but my understanding is that the father of the children has left, and she has no other support system.
Additionally, I felt for David at the end. Honestly, throughout the entire film I kind of thought of him as a jerk, but the way he acted at the end made up for all of it because he obviously didn't know the situation when he asked her to buy the drinks or go back to her home afterwards. However, I wonder if he only bought the kids food, took care of the entire family for a while and drove them home because he felt bad for them and felt obligated. I'm not sure.
Overall, it was a very interesting story line. However, one thing that bothered me throughout was the hand-held motion of the camera. I tend to get kind of nauseous when I watch a lot of hand-held/uneasy motion videos and movies, so If I had a correction I would say to fix that. I understand it kind of plays into the style of the film but it was also very distracting.
Nathaniel Erebia: Wasp In terms of cinematography, I loved the utilization of handheld shots and the freedom of shaky cam. Not every shot needed to be 100 percent stabilized in order to help the audience feel certain emotions especially regarding the CU shots. Regarding the story, this story helped remind me how fortunate I am to have had a hard working mother in my life. She passed a little over 5 months ago and I am thankful to have had no memories like the entire "pub" scene in my entire life. It was definitely a powerful moment for me that made me cherish her even more than I already do.
I want to talk about the insect's actual involvement with the story. On a technical level, it is an excellent case study in proper setup and payoff. Setup and Payoff usually comes in a three-part structure with an intitial setup, a reminder, and finally a payoff. In this short, the title serves as the setup, since the audience spends the first few sequences of the film unsure of the title's meaning. The reminder occurs when the wasp buzzes around the family's kitchen, a small nuisance in their home largely ignored by the children in the same way that they are ignored by their mother and their socio-economic class is ignored by society. The payoff then occurs when the wasp crawls eerily into the mouth of the sleeping infant, perhaps evoking the same disturbing implications as the face-hugger in Alien, until it is ejected, much to the audiences relief. In a metaphorical and subtextual level, the wasp is meant to reflect the seedy environment in which these characters exist, and the consequences of selfishness and negligence. In both the reminder and the payoff, the image of the wasp is juxtaposed with sugar, either in crystal form or as sweet barbecue sauce, that is being used because of the mother's inability to properly care for her children. In the reminder, the wasp hovers by a window while the mother dishes out pure sugar for her children, including her infant, to eat instead of real food. In the payoff, the wasp only enters the baby's mouth because he was asleep and covered in barbecue sauce, both of which can be blamed on the mother for ordering her daughter to rock him to sleep instead of feeding him, which led to both the fatigue and the barbecue. The wasp may also be a reference to the euphemism for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants and a symbol for cultural oppression, but as always, interpretation is not prescriptive. No one can deny however that the insect is a textbook example of proper setup and payoff.
Alex Harris: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold This is a strangely common theme in movies. Someone concealing an important part of themselves from another out of fear, and causing tension and other "wacky shenanigans" until finally the truth comes out. In most Hallmark movies, that truth causes freedom for the protagonist and happiness for the remainder of the time we see them. In this film we don't know if it works out alright in the end, which gives even more weight to the tension built up throughout its run-time. The camera work was nice, but always moving. If I could make a funny comparison it would be like shooting a romantic comedy like a Borne movie. Overall, an enjoyable piece with a good story and a fitting ending.
This short film was unique in that in seemed to be filmed entirely on a hand held. This works for this particular film because I feel it adds the feeling of realism. Rather that's the feeling I got from the film. I didn't feel like I was watching a scripted production, but rather a snippet of someone's life as she struggles to make it by with children as what appears her to be a single mother. I also liked how throughout the film it kept me on a sort of edge. Meaning that I did not actually have a feeling that everything was under control, but rather in shambles and quite hectic. In the end, I don't really know how to describe my feelings towards this film, other than I thought it was rather unique in its style.
Ben Boynton: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold I thought the shaky camera work in the piece really underlined the whole vibe of the film. Shaky handheld camera work usually indicates a film that is lackluster or low-quality, where in this case it is the mom that is below par. The movie is interesting because the woman is clearly not able to take care of her kids and she really should not be in charge of them, but she also shows signs of trying for her kids. You really feel bad for them, as they seem like good kids who are just put in a bad position. Overall, the movie uses the camerawork and sad story to really make you feel strong emotions, which is clearly what this movie was about
Chris O'Connor: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold This film takes on the task of using shaky cam to create a tone. The handheld shots add to the chaos of the the fight scene and the struggles faced in the film. The lack of vibrant colors and the unbalanced camera framing all contribute to emphasizing the unstable and hectic life the mother lives. The opening scene pulls the viewer in with its filmmaking techniques, and creates suspense with movement. The ending of the film leaves the viewers questioning if Dave stayed and if it all worked out. Having this ambiguous ending allows the viewer to continue thinking about the film and form their own ending. Overall, I enjoyed this film's style to portray the story.
Sam Sheriff: Wasp by Andrea Arnold was very difficult to watch, but that doesn't mean that it was bad. I thought that the camera work with its handheld sloppy approach was perfect for the story being told here. Almost everytime the girls were on screen I felt very uneasy and like they were teetering on some metaphorical cliff in part due to the camera work, and in part due to the sound design. The stereo sound design, especially when they were near a road made me again feel like some tradegy was about to happen and that someone would be ran over or something like that. Thankfully the baby wasn't actually stung, and nothing else happened to the girls, but it was tense to say the least throughout the film. I'm very glad that Dave seems to be an alright guy, since hopefully in the time past what we see in the film, he can be a ray of light in the girls' lives. I thought that this film was great, but again, very hard to watch.
Cody Quinn: Wasp by Andrea Arnold This movie was very different, but interesting. The way the opening scenes are gives me the sense that this is a real life story. The shaky camera movements makes me feel like I'm following Gina through her journey. The quality of the film also gives it an old timey feel, which I really enjoyed. The film does a great job showing the woman try to juggle taking care of the kids and seeing Dave at the same time. It keeps you wondering if she really cares about the kids or not. She does certain things for them, but she doesn't seem to care about watching over them. Another thing that stuck out to me is how much the camera movement changes when Dave is telling her how much he likes her. It is very calm and still as it is needed to focus on the character's faces for the dialogue. The last few minutes were my favorite. First, we finally get our romantic scene. Then, we see the kids eat food that someone threw on the ground, showing how much the family struggles and how Gina can't provide. Lastly, we get our big "stinger." A wasp stings the baby. The ending is very intense as Gina yells at the others for watching the baby, but incredibly ends peacefully with the children eating chips in Dave's car. This ending allows us to let the viewers come up with their own final outcome for this "family," rather that be a happy ending or not.
I thought this film was very interesting in regards to the story line and plot. Clearly the mom is struggling financially but loves her kids and would do anything or them but she also is tying to satisfy her own needs. each shot and camera angle added to the emotion of the film and the shakiness to me seemed to show the audience the crazy and hectic part of their lifestyle. The audio really tied everything together and creates intensity of emotion whether its a happy moment or sad. The shriek cry of the woman's kids at the end when the wasp enters the kids mouth changes the entire emotion of the story as the woman leaves her man friend immediately to help her kids. This film was different from the films we have blogged about but i enjoyed the message and story the film expressed.
Katy Hale: Wasp by Andrea Arnold: This film had a very interesting plot, especially in regards to the structure and organization of the film. This is also a very realistic film that helps the viewer relate to the narrative. A woman who loves her kids, but someone who is trying to take care of her own needs at the same time. Her character is very selfish, but selfless as it should be. The way the film was organized struck out to me. Each shot matches well with the specific emotion on the characters face, or the environment they are in. The lifestyle of the family is very relatable and realistic, which intrigues the viewers liking towards the film. The narrative and the audio matched up very well which made it even more interesting and fun to watch. The meaning and message of this film was very simple to follow and it had a lot of special moments.
In the Wasp, the cinematography all through the film is primarily hand-held shots or unstable cam. The utilization of handheld shots to include authenticity is exceptionally successful. It gives a narrative look of the film. I don't think I saw a still shot all through the film and that helps by making authenticity. Likewise, the shading revision of the film gives this lumpy harsh look. This gives a knowledge of the subject. The subject of living in a harsh situation, henceforth why the shading remedy looks to a great degree unsaturated.
ReplyDeleteBraedan Snow: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis short film relied very heavily on visuals. The fact that it is comprised of extremely shaky handheld shots makes it seem like it is a documentary of some sort, and gives it a perspective from the characters point of view like you are right in there with the action of the film. Although it was hard to adjust to at first, I think the technique of using the hand held shots were very effective in portraying authenticity of the film; it made the story come to life in a way that most films can not do. The shots appear to be effortless and careless in their manor, but you can tell each shot was specifically planned to add to the atmosphere created, and this is what makes it stand out from a documentary. Each shot seems to be perfectly unplanned. Not only were the shots authentic, but the story was shockingly realistic. Arnold did not hold back anything with this film, and by breaking boundaries she managed to cause emotion in the viewer. The mood was immediately set up within the first scene, where all the children are running through a dirty and sketchy stairwell. They all look dirty and malnourished, and most importantly sad. Shortly following the mom gets in a brawl with another woman while the children sit idly by, indicating that they have been through this enough times to be used to that kind of behavior. The viewer can really sympathize with the children, but also the single stressed out mom. Overall the film was both visually and emotionally powerful in a way that most films do not accomplish.
The Wasp is a film that has many close ups along the way. I liked the shot of her feet, when, I think, he was trying to say that she is lying. If we think about it, it does not make any sense, but that totally worked in telling the audience that she is lying. I wonder what else could work to show audience that she is lying, I guess anything with weird movement can work in it. I agree with what Fran and Braedan said about the hand held, Andrea really made it work in the film, it does not seem to bother anybody or zoned them out of the narrative. It was very well planned and intended use of hand held. It also looked like kind of the film which takes its time to get audiences understanding. It is confusing at first, and more with the unguessable title like WASP, and hardly have any shots of a real Wasp in it. The story was the kind of story which needed really good cinematography as well as intelligent direction, and it was very well done by the makers. I think, by trying to make it classy or more proper would have killed the vibe of the story. The story was harsh and it demanded some slapdash looking direction. It was a difficult story very well told.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Reed: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the handheld look was on purpose or the director just used what resource she had. It seems fitting because the unsettling look of the handheld shots are just as unsettling as the condition of the family in the film. The coloring gave me the impression that this film was older than what it is. Again maybe that was a style choice to match the poor condition of the family. This is one of those film that I don't quite understand. On one hand the film looks cheap but on the other there are people who will see this as a great film and speak highly of the Director. It's in an instance like this where I don't understand how the professional critics judge what is trash or art. I would like to know from the professors point of view what makes this film worthy enough for us to watch it.
Sam Flowers : The Wasp
ReplyDeleteOverall, I enjoyed the story of this film. I think it is a scary representation on how human nature can sometimes be dark. The main character put herself before the kids, whom were not capable of looking after themselves. Although I was not a fan of the film as a whole. The handheld shots were not a good feel to this film. Im not sure if this was because of poor budgeting from the filmmakers or on purpose to give the film a narrative feel, but it did not go well with the film. Other than that, good acting and story though.
Dylan Milinkovich: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis short film overall was pretty good and really focused on some struggles. It follows a single mother of four kids who struggles to provide for them and puts herself first. She wants to go on a date for the first time in a long time and puts her kids life in danger to do so. The whole film has shaky cam going on making sort of match the chaos that is always happening in the film. The dialogue is very simple so the film relies on the visuals of whats happening. The title of the film "Wasp" makes an appearance throughout the film with the ending being about the wasp on the babies mouth. After the scare, she realizes that she has been treating them unfairly with the situation putting them last. She should have told her date from the beginning the truth. Overall, I enjoyed the film but made me feel somewhat uncomfortable with the situations from time to time.
Nick Stellon: The Wasp
ReplyDeleteThe Wasp is a film which explores life through a socioeconomic lens. It gives an example of what life is like as a single mother of four, without enough money to raise them. The story is simple and it takes place in the course of a day, but it uses strategic elements to show the family's status. The lack of shoes, and the hardship to find food for the children proves demonstrates in a visual way how the family doesn't have money. The character of the oldest child serves the purpose of taking care of the family when the mother is absent, and it's written in such a way to get the most out of a child actress. The acting from the mother really carries the story, and you can see on her face the decisions that weigh on her. I thought an interesting choice with this film was how it was shot. It's handheld, gritty nature shows the world in a way that seems fitting. It is not painted as cinematically beautiful, because it isn't supposed to be. It is a shaky world for these children to grow up in, and the handheld movements demonstrate that to the audience. Overall this film had an excellent story, and the way it was carried out made it even better.
Karenya Garrett: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis film, I thought, was very interesting in the sense of it was not controlled. The use of hand-handle shots added more to the story of a single mother and her journey. With four kids, she tries to do the best with what she has and putting them first while also attempting to regain a social life by going on the date with the ex-boyfriend. The use of hand-handle and the shaky camera shows the chaos the mother has of attempting to make any sort of balance within her life. The dialogue was simple and that it flowed with chaos and that everything was visually based to really create the impact. The title "Wasp" , though the insert comes towards the end, signifies the mother's chaotic life and how her decisions affect her children I thought was a clever symbol to tie the story of the film together. All in all, the visual and emotional impact made by the film was very clear and I enjoyed it.
Kelsey Peterson: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThe Wasp was an overall good short film. The handheld aspect really added to the tone of the film. I think it would look like a totally different if it was taped with a steady non moving camera. The color and effect while filming also adds to the tone greatly. Also the props and costumes for the movie show you how well the director put her image together. the main character walking around barefoot shows you they are not a wealthy family and don’t have a lot. Overall the film gave a very powerful message about the life of a single mother raising small children.
Alex Hubbard: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThe style in which Wasp by Andrea Arnold was filmed was the largest statements in the piece. The filming embodied the story in its entirety. The camera movements were rough, unpolished, and hectic, much like Zoe's character. If this film would have been recorded with a still camera, with little to no movement, it would have been an entirely different film. The hectic nature of the film would have been lost, solely relying on Zoe for the frantic nature of the piece. The handheld filming lets the viewer feel as if they're seeing a raw, unedited world. It gave the film an honesty that could not have been portrayed as well with a stationary camera.
Virginia Nobles: Wasp is a short film about a very bad mother who cares more about having a date with a guy than the safety and care of her children. She ends up going on a date with this guy after she lies to him and tells him her kids are just a friend's kids that she's looking after. Not able to find anyone to watch her children, she brings them with her to the bar and makes them wait outside while she's on her date. Seeing some men drop food on the ground, the hungry kids go and share it between them which eventually attracts a wasp. The wasp crawls into the baby's mouth making the other children call for their mother who is busy hooking up with the man in his car. After the mother gets out and runs to check on the kids, the guy, Dave, makes his way over and realizes that they're her kids. Being a nice guy, Dave doesn't get angry and takes her and the children to get food and drives them home. The picture quality is not the best and some of the shots are a little shaky but overall it has good composition. The mother made me pretty angry.
ReplyDeleteRolf Konrad: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThe shaky camera shots made sense when the film started out with a fight scene that was very hectic. The shaky shots continued throughout the film though. This was not surprising though as the film revolves around a mother who is unstable herself. This adds a lot of character to the film. It was a very good stylistic decision by the director. Overall, I was not a huge fan of this film. It wasn’t bad I just didn’t really enjoy watching it.
Tyler Mcilwain: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the film I noticed some shaky camera shots but immediately decided I liked this technique and thought it added to the narrative. This was an emotional watch. The actors performed great and carried the story very well. The amount of closeups and extreme closeups added to the film tremendously. The tighter the shot, the more intimate the piece seemed. The framing of this film adds drama to the narrative and gives you a glimpse at an unstable mother. Having shaky or poor quality shots added to the story because the lives of the characters reflected the same characteristics. The colors are not very vibrant as well. This shadows the mood of the film or the way the children may see the world living in poverty. Things like the baby unclothed, the passing of the flower, the fight scene, and the mothers costumes all were genius details in the film and forced the audience to doubt the mother and have an emotional connection with the children. The wasp appears throughout the film but mainly toward the end. This was an interesting way to pull her from the male, give her a wake up call, and tie the characters together at the end. Overall great film!
Kat Flandermeyer: The Wasp
ReplyDeleteThe video work on this film was very early-2000's shot through a potato- it had the grainy effect from early digital cameras and the deep-shadowed night lighting. It was a little shaky as well, clearly handheld. I liked it as an effect, though. The story was messy and it was reflected in the camera work.
The child actors were probably the best actors in the whole story, simply for the miracle of wrangling four kids under 10 to do what was asked of them. They didn't overact like a lot of kid actors will do.
I would describe the plot as more of a character study of the mother- we never see the conclusions of a lot of it. We don't know the full details of the fight with the other mother or what Dave does at the end. We can only guess at the mother's motivations for hiding her children from him. Even still, we learn a lot about her as a person just by observing a single day in her life. Her kids are ancillary to her life, but she does still care about them when she thinks she's about to lose them.
The wasp was a nice touch (and seeing a wasp wrangler in the credits made me giggle). It was there, unimportant, at first, providing a nice bit of foreshadowing. It's also the sort of threat that would never have posed itself had the mother been with her kids. She would have seen it and killed it early; but her neglect makes something so small as a bug dangerous.
The complexity of the characters makes for a really intriguing film. I just wish I knew more about them.
Peyton Wilkins: The Wasp
ReplyDeleteThis film was unsettling and hard to watch. I liked the decision to keep the colors dull. I think it reflects on the hardship and struggles of the single mother of four children. The shaky camera was also a good addition in my opinion. It shows how rough and hectic this woman's life is. If this film consisted of bright colors and still camera shots, you would get a whole different feeling behind the story. I like how it ended with the audience guessing what will happen to the family next. I am left wondering if Dave will stick around and help the girls out. It's hard to decide whether this story ended on a good note or a terrible one. I suppose it's up to the audience to decide.
Ella Oprandy: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteTension is the cornerstone of this short film: from the altercation in the very first scene to the apprehension regarding money throughout as well as Zoe's decision to conceal her true maternal relationship to the kids from Dave, pressure builds exponentially, almost palpably. As the viewer, I felt an uneasiness throughout the film in that the all the pressure that Arnold spent time building could, and would, explode at any moment, which it finally did in the final appearance of the wasp. At parts, this film was startling, specifically when the children were seemingly forced to essentially scavenge for scraps outside the bar. I wasn't expecting it to be such a crucial element in eventually attracting the wasp which set of the fear-filled climax of the film. I did wonder about the meaning behind the reoccurrence of the insect: was it a nod to the main character Zoe's overall aggression, in love and in parenting? Or was is it a reference to the acronym standing for White Anglo-Saxon Person? As far as the more technical elements of the film, the handheld shooting technique adds to the sense of hectic dysfunctional turbulence that makes up most of this family's life in a lower economic class.
Kyle Heinze: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of the story shows the seemingly everyday chaos experienced by this abnormal family. This part also established the relationships the main character has with her young children. The lack of video quality and instability of many of the shots further enhances this overall feeling of insanity and nonstop action. The dialogue and visual elements make the film's plot easy to follow and understand. The majority of the film is centered around establishing this hectic mood, which I feel translates to the audience very well, and allows us to create a sort of emotional connection to the characters, whether we like them or not.
Jimmy Pierce: The Wasp
ReplyDeleteI loved the use of shaky cam in this movie, which is odd, because shaky cam is usually something I loathe. But the many extreme close-ups, shaky cam, focus pocus and greenish tinting really added to the emotional content of the film. The camera, for all it's wobblin', was used very deliberately, spooning out information in a piecemeal fashion and adding a lot of tension to the film. You really get a feel for this very authentic-feeling poverty, and you always feel deeply connected with the characters' P.O.V. Plus, it's a testament to the acting and writing that no matter what questionable behavior our protagonist engages in, we always feel a lot of sympathy for her. As the film goes on, there's an excellent sense of mounting dread when day becomes night and we cut between the kids and the couple. The climax with the titular wasp is terrifying, and the ending is sad, funny, sweet and hopeful. Consider my emotions successfully jerked around. Thumbs up.
Keri Drake: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteI definitely did not expect The Wasp to start the way it did honestly so that was quite suspenseful to me showing how a mother would do anything to protect and take up for her children. I think the hand held camera movement really change the entire theme of the film and set a tone for it showing how it is an everyday life of a single mother and her 4 children. The close up of the wasp lets you know that is It about to play a significant role in this piece and it have a purpose that we have yet to see. Although I did not agree when the mother was trying to reconnect with an ex boyfriend while leaving her children outside unattended basically taking care of their selves. It is like she was blinded by the fact of having attention shown to her again by a man she completely forget what mattered the most. The big sister looked out for her siblings while her mother did what she did with Dave. The wasp at the end went into the baby's mouth and it made sensed because the shot earlier showed the wasp and the baby so it all comes together now. The entire film as a whole was well put together and told a story that is happening in everyday life across the world. The shots were set up and shot perfectly even with the hand held camera. The emotions showed at the end felt so real, definitely wonderful actors as well.
The entire film was shot hand held. At first I was put off by this as in our assignment we are typically marked down for shaky movement. Having finished the film I understand it's use. The shakiness was done to emphasis the instability of the mother and her children. The opening fight scene drew the audience in with the fast camera pans to create tension and make us feel as though we are in the middle of the fight. As the woman gets more involved with David, the camera becomes more stable and shows how she is trying to put on this fake facade for him. The setting was dirty. Like that of a David Fincher film. The children we matted and filthy to emphasize how the mother didn't have nor put in the effort to take care of them well. The other mothers dressed more appropriately while she presented herself trying to be the young single chick she is no longer. The majority of shots are dim as well, adding to the grimness of the characters as well as their outlook on life. The scene where the girls eat the thrown away food was emphatic in just how low the mother had sucked that her daughters were literally eating scraps to make it by. Like Gone Baby Gone, I loathed the mother.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Fulmore: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteI will say that this film definitely pulled at my heart strings. I felt for the kids, I felt for mom and I even kind of felt for David in the end. It was an interesting story line and in reality some peoples lives are like that. My heart hurt for the kids the whole way through and I will say that I constantly had anxiety because I honestly thought something worse was going to happen to them.
However, I will say that I sort of felt for the mom as well. Even though, I don't agree with her actions of bringing the kids to the bar, spending the rest of her money on beer or leaving her kids unsupervised, I do still feel for her. I felt for the situation. What was she supposed to do? Even though I don't think she took care of them properly at all I still could see that she cared about them so much but has obviously been put in a difficult situation. I could be wrong but my understanding is that the father of the children has left, and she has no other support system.
Additionally, I felt for David at the end. Honestly, throughout the entire film I kind of thought of him as a jerk, but the way he acted at the end made up for all of it because he obviously didn't know the situation when he asked her to buy the drinks or go back to her home afterwards. However, I wonder if he only bought the kids food, took care of the entire family for a while and drove them home because he felt bad for them and felt obligated. I'm not sure.
Overall, it was a very interesting story line. However, one thing that bothered me throughout was the hand-held motion of the camera. I tend to get kind of nauseous when I watch a lot of hand-held/uneasy motion videos and movies, so If I had a correction I would say to fix that. I understand it kind of plays into the style of the film but it was also very distracting.
I'm sorry I don't know why it won't let me change the title from Anonymous to my name.
DeleteNathaniel Erebia: Wasp
ReplyDeleteIn terms of cinematography, I loved the utilization of handheld shots and the freedom of shaky cam. Not every shot needed to be 100 percent stabilized in order to help the audience feel certain emotions especially regarding the CU shots. Regarding the story, this story helped remind me how fortunate I am to have had a hard working mother in my life. She passed a little over 5 months ago and I am thankful to have had no memories like the entire "pub" scene in my entire life. It was definitely a powerful moment for me that made me cherish her even more than I already do.
Jonathan Holle: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteI want to talk about the insect's actual involvement with the story. On a technical level, it is an excellent case study in proper setup and payoff. Setup and Payoff usually comes in a three-part structure with an intitial setup, a reminder, and finally a payoff. In this short, the title serves as the setup, since the audience spends the first few sequences of the film unsure of the title's meaning. The reminder occurs when the wasp buzzes around the family's kitchen, a small nuisance in their home largely ignored by the children in the same way that they are ignored by their mother and their socio-economic class is ignored by society. The payoff then occurs when the wasp crawls eerily into the mouth of the sleeping infant, perhaps evoking the same disturbing implications as the face-hugger in Alien, until it is ejected, much to the audiences relief. In a metaphorical and subtextual level, the wasp is meant to reflect the seedy environment in which these characters exist, and the consequences of selfishness and negligence. In both the reminder and the payoff, the image of the wasp is juxtaposed with sugar, either in crystal form or as sweet barbecue sauce, that is being used because of the mother's inability to properly care for her children. In the reminder, the wasp hovers by a window while the mother dishes out pure sugar for her children, including her infant, to eat instead of real food. In the payoff, the wasp only enters the baby's mouth because he was asleep and covered in barbecue sauce, both of which can be blamed on the mother for ordering her daughter to rock him to sleep instead of feeding him, which led to both the fatigue and the barbecue. The wasp may also be a reference to the euphemism for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants and a symbol for cultural oppression, but as always, interpretation is not prescriptive. No one can deny however that the insect is a textbook example of proper setup and payoff.
Alex Harris: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis is a strangely common theme in movies. Someone concealing an important part of themselves from another out of fear, and causing tension and other "wacky shenanigans" until finally the truth comes out. In most Hallmark movies, that truth causes freedom for the protagonist and happiness for the remainder of the time we see them. In this film we don't know if it works out alright in the end, which gives even more weight to the tension built up throughout its run-time. The camera work was nice, but always moving. If I could make a funny comparison it would be like shooting a romantic comedy like a Borne movie. Overall, an enjoyable piece with a good story and a fitting ending.
Justin LaSor: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis short film was unique in that in seemed to be filmed entirely on a hand held. This works for this particular film because I feel it adds the feeling of realism. Rather that's the feeling I got from the film. I didn't feel like I was watching a scripted production, but rather a snippet of someone's life as she struggles to make it by with children as what appears her to be a single mother. I also liked how throughout the film it kept me on a sort of edge. Meaning that I did not actually have a feeling that everything was under control, but rather in shambles and quite hectic. In the end, I don't really know how to describe my feelings towards this film, other than I thought it was rather unique in its style.
Ben Boynton: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteI thought the shaky camera work in the piece really underlined the whole vibe of the film. Shaky handheld camera work usually indicates a film that is lackluster or low-quality, where in this case it is the mom that is below par. The movie is interesting because the woman is clearly not able to take care of her kids and she really should not be in charge of them, but she also shows signs of trying for her kids. You really feel bad for them, as they seem like good kids who are just put in a bad position. Overall, the movie uses the camerawork and sad story to really make you feel strong emotions, which is clearly what this movie was about
Chris O'Connor: The Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis film takes on the task of using shaky cam to create a tone. The handheld shots add to the chaos of the the fight scene and the struggles faced in the film. The lack of vibrant colors and the unbalanced camera framing all contribute to emphasizing the unstable and hectic life the mother lives. The opening scene pulls the viewer in with its filmmaking techniques, and creates suspense with movement. The ending of the film leaves the viewers questioning if Dave stayed and if it all worked out. Having this ambiguous ending allows the viewer to continue thinking about the film and form their own ending. Overall, I enjoyed this film's style to portray the story.
Sam Sheriff: Wasp by Andrea Arnold was very difficult to watch, but that doesn't mean that it was bad. I thought that the camera work with its handheld sloppy approach was perfect for the story being told here. Almost everytime the girls were on screen I felt very uneasy and like they were teetering on some metaphorical cliff in part due to the camera work, and in part due to the sound design. The stereo sound design, especially when they were near a road made me again feel like some tradegy was about to happen and that someone would be ran over or something like that. Thankfully the baby wasn't actually stung, and nothing else happened to the girls, but it was tense to say the least throughout the film. I'm very glad that Dave seems to be an alright guy, since hopefully in the time past what we see in the film, he can be a ray of light in the girls' lives. I thought that this film was great, but again, very hard to watch.
ReplyDeleteCody Quinn: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteThis movie was very different, but interesting. The way the opening scenes are gives me the sense that this is a real life story. The shaky camera movements makes me feel like I'm following Gina through her journey. The quality of the film also gives it an old timey feel, which I really enjoyed.
The film does a great job showing the woman try to juggle taking care of the kids and seeing Dave at the same time. It keeps you wondering if she really cares about the kids or not. She does certain things for them, but she doesn't seem to care about watching over them.
Another thing that stuck out to me is how much the camera movement changes when Dave is telling her how much he likes her. It is very calm and still as it is needed to focus on the character's faces for the dialogue.
The last few minutes were my favorite. First, we finally get our romantic scene. Then, we see the kids eat food that someone threw on the ground, showing how much the family struggles and how Gina can't provide. Lastly, we get our big "stinger." A wasp stings the baby.
The ending is very intense as Gina yells at the others for watching the baby, but incredibly ends peacefully with the children eating chips in Dave's car. This ending allows us to let the viewers come up with their own final outcome for this "family," rather that be a happy ending or not.
Nicole Nelson: Wasp by Andrea Arnold
ReplyDeleteI thought this film was very interesting in regards to the story line and plot. Clearly the mom is struggling financially but loves her kids and would do anything or them but she also is tying to satisfy her own needs. each shot and camera angle added to the emotion of the film and the shakiness to me seemed to show the audience the crazy and hectic part of their lifestyle. The audio really tied everything together and creates intensity of emotion whether its a happy moment or sad. The shriek cry of the woman's kids at the end when the wasp enters the kids mouth changes the entire emotion of the story as the woman leaves her man friend immediately to help her kids. This film was different from the films we have blogged about but i enjoyed the message and story the film expressed.
Katy Hale: Wasp by Andrea Arnold:
ReplyDeleteThis film had a very interesting plot, especially in regards to the structure and organization of the film. This is also a very realistic film that helps the viewer relate to the narrative. A woman who loves her kids, but someone who is trying to take care of her own needs at the same time. Her character is very selfish, but selfless as it should be. The way the film was organized struck out to me. Each shot matches well with the specific emotion on the characters face, or the environment they are in. The lifestyle of the family is very relatable and realistic, which intrigues the viewers liking towards the film. The narrative and the audio matched up very well which made it even more interesting and fun to watch. The meaning and message of this film was very simple to follow and it had a lot of special moments.