Blog 4, Actors

I am going to discuss three different actors from "We Bought a Zoo" and describe what actor type I think they are for this movie.

Matt Damon (Benjamin Mee character)

    Personality Type Actor~~ "an actor playing themselves, (that's the perception)" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).

For this movie, one could argue that Matt Damon's plays a role of impersonating another person (impersonator type actor), since this movie is based of true events.  That is the case, however I still think for this particular role, Matt is using the personality type acting.  This movie is based on a recently widowed dad that just needs to learn how to move on in life without the love of his life, while raising their two children.  Now in real life, Matt Damon has not lost his wife, but I am guessing the thought of that, would make his world fall apart.  Not only is Matt a husband, he is a father as well.  He and his wife are happily married, raising four girls.   The scenes throughout this movie is true to any parental obstacles we come across.  Some examples in this movie is, Dad hanging out with Rosie while looking for a house; Dad realizing what talent his son has in art; arguing with son; having to keep it all together for the sake of the children. 

As parents, we must decide what is the best decision to make for you and your children.  Dealing with those decisions are something parents struggle with on a daily basis.  Benjamin is dealing with a teenage boy that is getting in trouble at school, reflecting on how he acts at home.  Matt Damon can relate with those struggles since he was a teenage boy once himself.   Benjamin also has a little girl that needs stories told to her of her mom, each night before bed. Buying the zoo, moving to a new area, a fresh start, is the decision that Benjamin thinks will be best for his grieving family but again it causes another argument between him and his son. (See Clip: "We Bought a Zoo Fight!)  However, Rosie, loves the idea of living on a zoo.

Matt Damon also doesn't own a zoo.  In this movie, Benjamin didn't own one before this time in his life either.  I think Matt can relate to the characters confusion, and frustrations with all that there is to be learned to fully operate a functioning zoo, one that is licensed too.  He buys this house, thinking, "Oh a zoo, I can handle this", only to realize that the zoo is in much need of renovations and the cost alone is quite overwhelming.  I think that if Matt Damon were to buy a zoo and plan to run it, his reactions would be the same, with the exception of a money issue, he is Matt Damon after all.

Scarlett Johansson (Kelly Foster character)

     Impersonator Type Actor~~ "an actor that had simply copied the manner, dialect and behavior of a character" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).

Scarlett Johansson is an amazing actress, having major roles in many major films.  Therefore, by no means is she a zookeeper.  For this film, Scarlett plays a 28 year old, single female, with practically no life because of her time and dedication to the zoo.  Real life, Scarlett is of course married, with a child, and on all accounts a very busy lady, with no regards to a zoo.  The real Benjamin Mee said that the character that Scarlett plays, actually was three people in real life.  The director of this movie, Cameron Crowe, wanted it to be more simplex, with added drama, so he cast Scarlett as Kelly, but with the responsibilities of three people.  She is impersonating three different people for one character.  She had to learn the ins and outs of the zoo, learn what certain animals would eat, what kinds of medicines they'd take, and for what reasons.  She even had to learn the sounds they make.  Not only is she acting, she is very much impersonating three different people from Rosemoor Animal Park.

John Michael Higgins (Walter Ferris character)

    Character Type Actor~~ "an actor who specialization in playing a wide variety of characters, most often supporting or minor roles rather than leading roles" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).

John Higgins plays Walter Ferris, a rude, obnoxious jerk that has no interest in seeing the zoo re-open and tries everything he can to make sure it doesn't.  Obviously, he is not liked very much.  His character is not one of the main characters, but without him, the movie would be less exciting.  He challenges Benjamin and Kelly to do all they can to get the zoo up to par to re-open on time.   Each time Ferris shows up (sometimes unannounced) he has the look of, I'll get you, and you will lose.  John Higgins again is one that is in a lot of movies, playing different characters, usually not main roles.  He seems to be liked by most, which is not the case with his character in this movie.


Matt Damon is a very talented actor.  I believe him to be a "Wild Card Actor".  A wild card actor is one that "is difficult to classify as a certain type because this actor can play a wide variety of characters" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).   In this particular movie, it seems Benjamin Mee and Matt Damon have very similar personalities, which made acting for this character more easy and relaxing.  However, Matt has been in a variety of roles, that aren't anything like the character of Benjamin Mee.  In the "Jason Bourne" movies, there is much more action and violence.  In the "Ocean's Eleven" movies, there is deception and again violence.  Then in "Good Will Hunting" there is a more relaxed type of character again, but one with anger issues, one that a rough start to life, and Matt's character in this movie is a genius.   Matt Damon is a type of actor, that molds well to the character he is portraying. 

                                                                 References:

Goodykoontz, B., Jacobs, Christopher P. (2014). Film: From Watching to Seeing. Second Edition.  Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

IMBD.  (1990-2015) Matt Damon . Retrieved From: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000354/
IMBD.  (1990-2015) Scarlett Johansson.  Retrieved From: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424060/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMBD.  (1990-2015) John Michael Higgins.  Retrieved From: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383422/?ref_=nv_sr_3
"We Bought A Zoo" (2011, December 1) Why did you buy this place? [Video File].  Retrieved From:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc80eNzxpJo
"We Bought A Zoo"  (2012, November 18). We bought a zoo fight! [Video File].  Retrieved From:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAbDfEKC_Xs
"The Bourne Identity" (2011, June 16).  Pen vs Knife [Video File].  Retrieved From:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnmq5PPScA
"Ocean's Eleven" (2010, April 19).  Linus [Video File].  Retrieved From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FeqJkfrilc
"Good Will Hunting" (2014, August 11).  The best Robin Williams Scene [Video File].  Retrieved From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AvxR5vVgY4

We Bought a Zoo, Blog 3

Describe each of the three basic categories of sound (dialogue, sound effects, and music).
Dialogue is the conversations, true talking, of the characters on the set.  The set words they say to themselves or others.  Sound effects are sound imitations  of sounds for a dramatic effect to enhance the reality of the scene.  Music in the movie is songs sung by artists that fit the scene or instrumental sounds, with no words. 

Explain how the different categories of sound are being used in your chosen film. 
In "We Bought a Zoo", there is constant dialog between all the characters.  Many times it is soft, everyday talk, at low key sounds.  When the main character Ben talks about his deceased wife, his voice is very quiet and subdued.  Throughout many scenes there is quiet instrumental music in the background to fill in the quietness of the scene.  The instrumental music fits in with the quiet atmosphere of the movie.  This movie also has sound effects for the zoo animals.  I am certain that some of the sound effects were quite real, and other times, it was recorded to use at a specific time. The majority of this film uses non-diegetic sounds, but with the sounds of the animals, that is diegetic.

Assess the impact of sound in establishing the theme.
The impact of sound throughout this movie gives the audience an over all calming, relaxing theme for the movie.  There is no real major action shots, no major screaming, beside an argument between father and son.  This movie is based on a family trying to start over after losing a wife/mom.  Many times throughout the movie, are quiet instrumental sounds being heard to coincide with the quiet talk of the characters about real life situations.

How does the use of sound inform the mood of the scene, or the film overall?
The sound informs the mood of quiet and sadness at times.  The movie is a feel good, good natured movie about a family just trying to move on in life after a tragic loss of a loved one.

Can you identify specific sounds in your film that allow you to infer a particular genre?
I think because of the calming instrumental music, and soft low key voices of the characters sets a good feel for a family movie.  I have a family of six, with my youngest being six years old and my oldest being 14 years old, and of course my husband and I.  We can all watch this movie an I don't feel that I have to cover up any inappropriate parts of the movie.  There are no major sound effects that would be scary.   The dialog between the characters is low key.  Not too loud, nor too soft, but the tone is just that of everyday people just having a low key conversation.  The sounds of the animals are true to each specific animal.  In one scene, Kelly is teaching Rosie (and the other as they listen) the sounds a tiger makes.  Then the tiger mimics her, which I believe was real.

Since each category of sound may produce a range of effects, how might you characterize the effects in your film? For example, realistic and expected sound effects may have a different effect on a viewer than exaggerated or unexpected ones.
When it comes to the zoo setting, I think the realistic sounds of the animals really give the feel of being at the zoo.   In the scene where Ben and Rosie are with the realtor, and all of a sudden they hear a lion roar, they feel quite shocked, as well does the audience watching it for the first time.  Hearing that roar, gives excitement of what's about to happen in the movie. (Meeting the Animals)  In the scene where Ben and Kelly talk, (Letting Go) and Ben tells her all about his deceased wife, the music is a calming, almost sad instrumental piece, making the audience feel for Ben.  Feel his sadness for the loss of this wife.  The scene when Dylan confesses his love for Lily, (20 seconds of courage), the sound of the rain pitter pattering and the instrumental music builds the suspense of whether or not Dylan will indeed have his 20 seconds of courage.   The music slowly gets faster as he says all that he can in his 20 seconds of courage.  As the music slightly increases, so does his words. 

Assess how the scene or sequence would play differently if you changed or removed a key category of sound.
First, if we were to remove the sound of the animals, that would have a dramatic effect.  Hearing the sounds of the animals really place the audiences' mind into the zoo.  Also, the calm instrumental music played in a lot of scenes would be less exciting to watch without it.  The most dramatic parts of the movie, have instrumental music and some music with lyrics, playing in the background, building up the scene just enough to have a full effect on the audience.  There are many scenes in this movie with no background sound, just dialog,  and I think that suits those scenes just perfectly.  Adding additional categories of sounds with some of those scenes would take away from the dialog going on, in which is just perfect with out added sound. 

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title

"We Bought a Zoo" (It's a Zoo). [Video File]  Retrieved from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV-6-NTIm7M

"We Bought a Zoo" (Meeting the Animals). [Video File]  Retrieved From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_DPvIyy-z0

"We Bought A Zoo" (20 seconds of Courage).  [Video File]  Retrieved from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmMFIganRQY 

"We Bought A Zoo" (Letting Go). [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nuhP1j5O2k

"We Bought A Zoo (20 Seconds of Courage, Dylan and Lily) [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c-4XLvqD0w

We Bought a Zoo Blog 2

Identify the type of lighting used in the film (traditional three-point, high-key, or low-key) and assess the impact of the lighting used to establish the theme.

My blog was on the movie "We Bought a Zoo". I believe the lighting used throughout the movie was high-key and low-key. This is a very fun, yet emotional movie. At the exciting times of the movie, the light is bright, bringing out the excitement of all the characters. There are also some rough patches the characters go through, in which the low key lighting works well identifying the mood of the characters. The lighting also conveys how the animals feel. In the beginning of the movie, the animals are as lively or vibrant as they should be. By the end of the movie, the are more lively and very vibrant in their demeanor. The lighting portrays this very well

What are the benefits of the style of lighting used?

The benefits of this type of lighting gives the overall feeling of being in the movie. Life is never always bright or always dull. Each day, each moment brings all types of lighting in our lives.

How did this technique contribute to the theme?

In "We bought a Zoo", the scene where Benjamin and Rosie walk out to the zoo for the first time, the lighting is very bright in contrast with the characters. Or at the end the movie, when the zoo celebrates re-opening, by having a grand opening. It's exciting, it's new and yet scary, all mixed into one. In the scene that Benjamin and Dylan are having an argument in the house about Dylan not feeling wanted or loved, the lighting is darker, again reflecting the characters. Their mood then, is not bright and cheerful, but dark, sad and angry. As when, the tiger is sick, the cast of shadows and darkness brings out the sadness of the scene. Throughout the movie, there are many of times, that Benjamin starts to reminisce about his deceased wife, and again the lighting captures those moments precisely. Not to bright, unless at the moment of the good memory coming on the screen, but when Benjamin is just sad and missing her, the lighting darkens a bit, as does his mood.

How was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film? For example, documentary films tend to rely on natural light as a way of creating an overall tone of authenticity.

The genre of this film is “Family” with a sub-genre of Drama. The lighting for this type of genre is perfect, high and low key. With a family/drama movie, there are all kinds of emotions that run through the movie. There are happy, exciting, and fun scenes, as well as sad and angry scenes.

Compare how the scene would play if different choices had been made.

In the scenes that involved the animals interacting with the characters, works well with high-key lighting. I think if it were low-key at those moments, it would take away from the excitement of the scene. On the flip side, if during the scene where dad and son have an argument, or when the tiger is very sick, I would think the audience wouldn’t take those scenes seriously if at that moment there as high-key lighting.

                                                              References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.

“We Bought a Zoo” Trailer (2011, November 11). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBZCslP9_AE

Youtube Clip: (2012, November 18). “We bought a zoo fight!” Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAbDfEKC_Xs

Title:   We Bought A Zoo

Writer:  (Screenplay): Aline Brosh McKenna and Cameron Crowe

(Book): Benjamin Mee

Director:  Cameron Crowe

Year:  2011

Actors:  Matt Damon (Benjamin Mee);  Scarlett Johansson (Kelly Foster); Thomas Haden Church (Duncan Mee); Colin Ford (Dylan Mee); Maggie Jones (Rosie Mee)

Story:   "We Bought a Zoo"  is a movie based on true events.  The location for the movie is based out of California, however in reality the family lives in England.  A young widow decides to start over fresh with his 2 children, and bought a house that was on the grounds of a zoo.   With absolutely no experience for running a zoo, or with animals in general, and a daughter that is tickled pink at the idea and a son that is not happy with the idea, Benjamin Mee decides this is what's best for his family, a new adventure.  The zoo was in desperate need for renovations too. In reality, the zoo was bought before the mother passed away, sadly however, she passed away before the grand re-opening of the zoo.

Plot:  Benjamin Mee is recently a widowed, single father of two children.  He is a journalist that is struggling and eventually quits his job without a hesitation.  Everywhere Benjamin looks, reminds him of his deceased wife.  She passed away losing to a long battle with cancer.  Benjamin's daughter, Rosie, needs to be told each night before going to sleep, stories of her mom, so she feels mom is still close to her.  This is hard for Benjamin, as he misses his wife terribly.  He is seen watching old videos of the family together.  He does this quite often throughout the movie.  Dylan is struggling in his own way, and not in a good way.  He is getting in trouble in school, to the point he was expelled.  It was then that Benjamin realized a fresh start is what they all need.  With that, he sets out to find a new place to live.  He looks at numerous houses, and none that suited him or Rosie.  Until they finally saw one, but the real estate agent pointed out this would not be a good house.  However, Benjamin ignored him, since he was in complete awe by the style of the house, he knew right then, this would be their new house.     Then while looking at the inside of the house, they hear a lion roar, yes a lion.  That's when Benjamin finally listens to the real estate agent, "sir, this house comes with a zoo".   Rosie was excited!    Needless to say, Benjamin bought it.   His brother Duncan tried to talk him out of it, but Benjamin always loved new adventures, and believed this would be best for his family.

Once moved into the house, Benjamin met the people that have been taking care of the zoo, with their own personal money.  The leader of that group was a woman named Kelly Foster.  She walked through the entire zoo showing and explaining everything to Benjamin Mee.  She explained how much would be need to save this zoo. Benjamin Mee was quite taken back by all the information, but he pulled it together and said, he'll make it work.  Kelly then looked at Benjamin and asks "Why are you doing this, buying a zoo?"  He responds "Why not?" As months go by, money gets tighter and tighter.  Dylan isn't to happy about not being with his old friends, and Rosie is having a blast.  And in the midst of all this, Benjamin is still reminded of his wife, everywhere he looks.  He realizes then that no matter where he lives, there will always be reminders.    Dylan starts to get close with Lily, Kelly's niece, that is homeschooled at the zoo.  Benjamin finds out his wife and a little nest egg for him, knowing that one day for one of his crazy adventures, he'd need some back up cash.  And with that extra bit, all works out, and they are finally able to get licensed to reopen the zoo.   The week before the zoo was scheduled to open, it rained all week.  But on opening day, after realizing a tree crashed in the walk way to enter, there were lines of people waiting to get in.

Then end of the movie showed Benjamin taking his kids back to the restaurant where he first met his future wife, their mom.   He saw her in a window, and decided he had 20 seconds of insane courage, 20 seconds of complete bravery, (which he had told Dylan earlier, that this kind of insane courage will turn into something great) and he went right up to this woman in the restaurant, and said "Why would an amazing woman like you even talk to someone like me?"  and she responded "Why not?"

I believe that the movie is  both chronological and non-linearly.  The movie itself, the move, fixing the zoo, etc, are in chronological order, however the flashbacks that involve the mom and the ending where he talks about where it all began, takes us back in time, therefore non-linearly.

How are the elements like character development or foreshadowing impacted by the choice of storytelling methods?   The characters in this movie really bring out the trueness of how a death can really be painful to deal with.  Parents can really relate to the dad, struggling with the loss of his wife, and raising kids on his own.  Starting over can be a struggle for anyone, and deciding what's best for you family all in all is always a tough decision.

If the film had followed a different presentation style, how would the general effect on the audience have been different?   If this film followed a different presentation style, I think the audience would have been bored  with the movie.  This led up to a fantastic ending that for most, made people shed some tears.  Its a heartwarming, feel good movie, that we all need once in a while.

Resources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389137/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9108388/We-Bought-a-Zoo-the-true-story-behind-the-film.html