The Techniques Used in American Beauty Essay Example for Free

The Techniques Used in American Beauty Essay Throughout American Beauty, Mendes? use of set design and camera angles have been carefully structured to emphathise the ? lm? s theme of imprisonment. In the opening scene the audience? s introduction to the lead character is Lester Burnham taking a shower. Mendes (1999) states this is the ? rst jail cell the audience sees Lester in, a range of various jail cell type settings appear throughout the ? lm including Lester presented excessively behind glass, between frames and at work, where he is con? ned to a small cubicle in a very large of? ce (Appalachian, 2009). The effect of Lester imprisoned suggests he is isolated and removed from the world around him. The camera angles used exaggerate this and highlight Lester? s de? ation of power against the signi? cant people in his life. This technique is shown to de? ne the relationship between Lester and his boss, Brad. During a private conversation about budget cuts at work, Brad? s superiority is enforced as he shot from a low angle, whereas Lester is shot from a high angle, this creates the effect that Lester is far away from Brad, which demonstrates to the audience the vast power Brad has over him. Mendes (1999) describes Lester as â€Å"distant and isolated† in this scene. This technique is also replicated throughout the movie to emphathise Lester? s detached relationship from his wife, Carolyn and daughter, Jane. The scene where Lester is seen to delay his wife by spilling his briefcase on the pavement before entering the car, Carolyn, similarly to Brad is shot from a low angle again which enforces Lester? s lack of power and her superiority. Interestingly, as the ? lm progresses and Lester? relationships evolve, the camera angles also evolve in reverse and the audience begins to see Lester shot in a low angle and characters like Carolyn are shot in a high angle, indicating that Carolyn is now vulnerable. These altered camera angles give Lester a triumphant image. Another technique Mendes uses is colour. The use of colour is often an important technique utilised by ? lm directors to communicate themes and ideas to an audience. In American Beauty, Mendes powerfully uses colour to communicate that the characters are attempting to escape from their imprisonment. Initially the characters are seen in environments that are very dull and nondescript, as Mendes (1999) states when referring to Lester? s work setting. As Lester? s quest for escapement gains momentum, the vivid colour of red is gradually introduced more into this ? lm through subtle furnishings in the Burnham house and particularly integrated with Lester? s sexual fantasies. The use of the vibrant, red rose petal is ? rst introduced when Lester and Carolyn attend Jane? s cheer performance, where Lester loses himself as he enters his ? rst â€Å"tunnel of fantasy† (Mendes, 1999). Deschler (1999) states the rose is symbolic of American beauty, and the colour red symbolises passion and love. The signi? cance of the rose petal and the colour red is repeatedly seen throughout the ? lm in house furnishings such as a bouquet of roses on the coffee table and vividly in Lester? s fantasies about Jane? s friend, Angela, the increasing level of red in the ? lm is in conjunction with Lester? s progressing sexual drive and transformation. The ? ourishing presence of the colour red, acknowledges Lester? s ? erce lust and desire to be free. This is effectively conveyed during the scene where Lester visualises Angela in a vibrant sea of roses, touching herself seductively on his bedroom ceiling, also when Lester buys the car â€Å"he has always wanted† (Ball, 1999), which is a 1970 Firebird and strategically, red. Music is a powerful medium in ? lm and Mendes uses the soundtrack in American Beauty to articulate the character? s evolving personalities and relationships, and to set the tone of each scene, particularly noticeable during Lester? s transformation. Composer, Thomas Newman? score is described as â€Å"lonely and melancholy† (Mendes, 1999), which is an appropriate expression for Lester? s existence at the beginning of this ? lm. This is similarly demonstrated and supports to de? ne the initial relationship between Lester and Carolyn, as shown by the dull music that Carolyn chooses to play at the dinner table. When Lester? s journey to freedom gains speed, evidently his sense of self worth has increased as there is an optimistic lift in the genre of music that is played as the backdrop to Lester? s life. This melancholy music played at the beginning of the ? m, begins to disappear and is replaced by fast paced, rock music. Simultaneously as Lester? s lifestyle transforms into marijuana smoking and employment at a fast food restaurant, so does too his interest in listening to seventies rock music (Deschler, 1999). At the height of Lester? s transformation, an important scene where the soundtrack effectively communicates a liberating change in personality is when he is recklessly driving his 1970 Firebird, whilst singing along to Guess Who? s rock hit â€Å"American Woman,† he con? dently sings the lyrics â€Å"American woman, stay away from me† (Ball, 2009). This rebellious choice of song supports Lester? s new found freedom from his corporate life and could even suggest that Lester is newly unaffected by his wife? s judgements and bounds by recreating his lost youth. In many of the fantasy sequences involving Angela, the music composed is seductive and trancelike, which mirror? s the effect Angela has on Lester (Huffstutler, 2009), the technique of soundtrack is effectively used here to set a strong tone for the audience. In American Beauty, director, Sam Mendes uses the Burnham family to demonstrate the breakdown of a suburban family and possibly to encourage his audience to ? ook closer? and past what often appears, to be a seamless, picture perfect life. American Beauty effectively employs the techniques of set design, camera angles, colour and soundtrack to convey the meaning of this ? lm, which is to escape from imprisonment.

Abortion is Legal Murder :: The Right to Life, Pro-Life Essays

Every day, over 4,000 unborn babies are killed in the United States because of abortion. It has also been scientifically proven that a fetus had a heartbeat earlier than 22 days of conception. And yet people say that the baby in not living, simply because it is unborn? How can something with a heartbeat not be alive? Some people might say that it depends on the situation. What possible situation would make it ok of someone to simply kill her baby? The baby had never done anything wrong, and yet it is still legal to erase its existence. But what if the woman was raped? Some people would argue that the woman should have the right to have an abortion, because it was not her fault that the baby was conceived. It was not the babies fault either, so the baby should not be punished? If the pregnant woman does not want to carry the baby for the full 9 months, the fetus could be placed in a surrogate mother, who will nurture the fetus inside of her, and when the baby is born, the baby will be placed in the arms of the original mother. And if she does not want the baby, she can put the baby up for adoption, and be placed in a home where its life will be cherished forever rather than simply thrown away and forgotten. Some people also say that if a teenage girl gets pregnant, she has a right to get an abortion, because her life should not be ruined at such a young age because of a child. My answer to this is simple: don’t do the crime if you cant do the time. In other words, don’t have sex if you don’t want to have a baby. Contraceptives may help reduce pregnancy, but it is not 100% safe. If you have sex, there will always be a chance of pregnancy, no matter what age you are. But what if the pregnancy is threatening the life of the mother? There are many safe ways to extract the baby from the womb without killing it. The baby could be placed in a surrogate mother until it is born, or it could become a Vitro baby. Vitro babies are commonly knows as â€Å"test tube† babies. This works by very carefully removing the fetus from the womb into a glass tube-shaped container, where it will be properly nourished, and soon develops into a full functioning human baby.

The Barber

A master of her craft, A the Barber has been in the barber field for over eleven years now and continuing to do very well. She keeps up with the latest techniques and hair trends as they appear on the fashion scene. Ayisha is a visionary and gained her knowledge and understanding by doing the Barbering apprenticeship. She learned the skill of barbering by watching and reading up on proper hair care. She specializes in short cuts, fades, shape-ups, bigens, designs, Mohawks and healthy hair care; all done through great service.She is constantly working on her own innovative techniques always pushing the boundaries of hair. She is trained in and has expanded upon the cutting techniques. Whether you want a contemporary classic cut or a funky avant-garde style, you are sure to be pleased with the experience you have with Ayisha as well as the result. In her Christian upbringing Ayisha has always been inspired to do well in life and barbering is one of the many fields in which she continue s to help people in any way that she can. Ayisha feels that the greatest compliment she can receive is referrals from friends, family and past clients. There's a lot of competition in the field of barbers so it's good to make sure each and every cut is precise and every shape-up is distinct† Using professional traditional methods to create the most innovative designs takes a lot of training and commitment and Ayisha understands this, which distinguishes her from every other barber in the industry. Although Ayisha's barbering skills started from a hobby, she has grown to take her career very seriously. Through many years of perfecting her craft, she is able to produce unique styles simply with a pair of clippers and her talent that will guarantee total satisfaction, every time.

Essay on PA52017 Parvez SIM335 PM - 3140 Words

Managing Project Table of Contents Introduction 3 Task 1: Different aspect of a Project 4 1.1 Core characteristics of a project: 4 1.2 Scope of the Project: 4 1.3 Critical Path Method and Gantt chart: 5 1.4 Cost appraisal method and its benefits: 6 1.5 Assessment and management risk: 6 1.6 Quality method used for successful completion of the project: 6 Task 2: Formal report on the project of ABEK Ltd: 7 2.1 Description of the project of ABEK Ltd: 7 2.2 Project lifecycle: 7 2.3 Breakdown of Project work: 9 2.4 Gantt chart: 9 2.5 Cost breakdown structure: 10 2.6 Network diagram: 10 2.6 Project management skills 11 2.8 Project manager leadership style: 11 2.9 Project Control Techniques: 12 Risk management: 12 Conclusion 13†¦show more content†¦IRR is one of the techniques (Lock, 2004). IRR is the rate at which the present value of the future cash flow will be equal to the initial cash flow and the NPV of the project will be zero. A project will be accepted if the cost of capital is lower than the IRR. Otherwise the project will be rejected. IRR provides many benefits. It helps to compare the cost of capital with the rate of return that will be earned on the project. It discounts the future cash flow and give correct decision in most of the cases (Daft, 1997). 1.5 Assessment and management risk: Management of risk means assessing the risk and taking steps to reduce that risk. In the project of ABEK, I will use both qualitative and quantitative approach for assessing risk. In qualitative approach, factors that may affect the project adversely will be considered. In the quantitative method, I will use sensitivity, simulation, probabilistic analysis, influence diagram and decision tree (Heerkens, 2002). Risk management techniques such as risk audit, risk reassessment, reserve meeting, status analysis, and cost risk analysis and scheduled risk analysis techniques will be used. 1.6 Quality method used for successful completion of the project: Controlling the quality of the project is very important for successful completion of the project. I will adopt the following measures for ensuring the quality: Producing realistic plan. Using repeatable process. Making effective team. Using