Presentation ScriptGuidance and

examples

1500 words (10% tolerance)

Reference to key items of research from the catalogue must be made explicitly in the presentation.

Short credited quotations may be used. Quotations are excluded from the word count.

Please ensure for each entry for the powerpoint slides you detail in brief what is on each slide (ie photo of Quentin Tarantion or video clip from Halloween etc)

Presentation script - Technology focus

Word Count: 2,386

(Without Quotes: 1,875

Presentation Script

How Digitally Created Characters Have Developed In Film Over Time.

Slide 1. Title Card.

PRESENTER: With this presentation I have researched and investigated the development of technology used in film and how the constant pressure from ever more thrill seeking audiences has led to the progression from early techniques using small scale models to the full bodied computer generated characters that have become common place in modern cinema. In my presentation I will cover the following:

Slide 2. Topics.

The origins of technology, the first use of special effects in a mainstream film. The first use of CGI in a mainstream film. The development of major special effects companies. Further development of CGI. How technology has affected Hollywood. The future of film technology.

I started where it all began with King Kong (Item 3.) in 1933.

Slide 3. Original theatrical King Kong (Item 3.) poster from 1933.

The origins of technology, the first use of special effects in a mainstream film.

PRESENTER: Upon its release in 1933, King Kong (Item 3.) fascinated audiences with its groundbreaking special effects achieved through stop motion animation, helmed by Willis O'Brien an expert and pioneer in the progression of this method. At RKO, a particularly good optical department provided prominent effects and contributed astonishing effects to the landmark smash hit King Kong (Item 4.). The film pioneered the use of special effects in mainstream cinema and would be a huge influence to many of today's major directors such as Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson as well as on Ray Harryhausen, who became a leading artist in the special effects world due to his pioneering stop motion work on iconic film sequences such as the skeleton soldiers in Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

Slide 4. Still from King Kong showing stop motion figures alongside real life actors. (Item 3.)

PRESENTER: Although stop motion animation had been used in previous films, King Kong was the first time that stop-motion models had been placed on screen alongside real life actors. This technique is called rear projection and is created by projecting previously shot footage on to a translucent screen with additional action filmed over the top, giving the impression that real life action is present with the stop motion characters:

Each picture is identical except for the action that is changing in the scene. If the images are flashed up fast enough (around ten a second) the brain will see them as a single picture with moving elements. This effect is known as persistence of vision. Motion pictures are usually projected at 24 frames a second and video at 30 frames a second (although this comes in the form of two interlaced half frames every 60th of a second). (Item 10.)

Slide 5. Scene from King Kong showing the problem of blurring. (Item 3.)

PRESENTER: This pain staking intricate and time consuming technique proved to be extremely expensive and as more films incorporated the technique a cheaper and more realistic method of special effects was needed.

Special effects are not only a way of filming spaceships and other blasts; there are many applications of this branch of film technology. Special effects are used in motion pictures when scenes are desired that would be impractical, expensive, dangerous, or even impossible to film in a normal manner. (Item 5.)

The first use of CGI in a mainstream film.

Slide 6. A still from Futureworld.

PRESENTER: Released in 1976 the science fiction film Futureworld included the first use of 3D computer generated imagery in mainstream cinema. The film was a sequel to the 1973 movie Westworld which had been the first mainstream film to include 2D computer generated imagery.

Slide 7. Image of Star Wars logo.

This technology was also present in the Star Wars trilogy which led to director George Lucas founding the special effects company Industrial Light and Magic

Slide 8. Image of George Lucas.

George Lucas went around to all the existing remnants, really, of the effects studio and was told, “No way. The technology’s not here. You’re dreaming” (Item 5.) -Rose Duignan, director of marketing at ILM.

The development of major special effects companies.

Slide 9. Image of ILM logo.

The special effects company would go on to win numerous awards for its development of computer generated technology and became responsible for many of cinema's most important visual scenes including the first CGI human character in the 1991 film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Slide 10. Image of Terminator 2.

ILM member, Steve Williams announced; “This is the milestone right here” (Item 9.). These groundbreaking effects led to director Steven Spielberg hiring Industrial Light and Magic for the digital effect work on his 1993 film Jurassic Park. (Item 9.)

Slide 11. Original theatrical Jurassic Park (Item 1.) poster from 1993.

PRESENTER: When Steven Spielberg brought ILM studios in to begin work on creating dinosaurs for Jurassic Park, he had originally intended to use stop motion animation but the studio convinced him to use CGI instead. ILM used much of the revolutionary technology they had become acclaimed for with Terminator 2 but this time they were required to create detailed realistic animals as opposed to the metallic effect used in Terminator.

Much of the same technology revolutionized by Terminator was used in Jurassic Park, only this time the characters they were not just shells built over wire frames, they had to be utterly convincing animals; including everything from their yellow teeth and rough skin, to watery eyes, and dirty spots. Every little detail had to be able to hold up for near twenty seconds on film; which is a lot of time in the computer world. (Item 9.)

Slide 12. Clip of Brachiosaur scene from Jurassic Park. (Item 1.)

Further development of CGI.

Slide 13. Still from Jurassic Park. (Item 1.)

PRESENTER: ILM created a new program that enabled animators to move the dinosaur’s computer generated skeleton a bone at a time allowing for a much smoother action, it also gave the creature's bones the effect of moving under their CG created skin. The new program named Envelope also gave the impression of the dinosaurs breathing. A new version of Softimage was also created by the visual directors for Jurassic Park which allowed the animation engineers to manipulate a small aspect of the CGI built creature without redrawing the whole body saving time and money in production. The production company created a system called The Dinosaur Input Device, which allowed the animators to move the model of the dinosaur through a computer, this system pioneered a new method of transferring one form of technology to another;

SoftImage allowed us to treat the model more physically - we could make a move and the animation program would automatically adjust all the other angles. We still had to go in and make minor adjustments by hand but it was light years ahead of the old method.' -Mark Dippe, Visual Effects Supervisor. (Item 12.)

Industrial Light and Magic went on to win their 13th Academy Award for their work on Jurassic Park and their 6th Academy Technical Achievement Award for their pioneering work in digital development. (Item 12.)

Computer animation has now replaced stop-motion in almost every application where the film maker is trying to create a realistic effect. (Item 10.)

PRESENTER: Industrial Light and Magic further raised the bar for CGI technology with the creation of the first realistic fully CG designed human being in The Mummy.

Slide 14. Image from The Mummy.

“The Mummy starred the most realistic digital human character ever seen in film. Featuring totally computer-generated layers of muscles, sinew and tissue, the ILM team again elevated its artistic and technical skill level in bringing a digital character to life.” (Item 8.)

Slide 15. Image of the Pixar logo.

How technology has affected Hollywood.

PRESENTER: Into the 21st century CGI animated films became ever popular amongst younger audiences with the abundance of family films created with astonishing detail to give a realistic effect while still maintaing the effect of a cartoon.

Slide 16. Image of Pixar releases.

As technology was developing in more cartoon-like movies the advancements to create fully realistic characters in live motion films was also developing. Peter Jackson used the technique of green screen in tandem with computer generated images in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy and his remake of King Kong to create fictional creatures with realistic human expressions.

Slide 17. Image of Kong and Gollum.

Jackson stated that with the two films he wanted to take the characters “out of the realm of the ‘special effect’ because we’re used to having computer-generated creatures being special effects”. (Item 6.)

Slide 18. Image of actor Andy Serkis wearing the motion capture suit.

To achieve this effect, actor Andy Serkis was filmed acting out the movements of Kong and Gollum in front of a green screen with motion capture sensors attached to his body, his actions were then processed through a computer and the CGI character was molded over. (Item 6.)

Slide 19. Image of The Polar Express.

PRESENTER: The Polar Express was released in 2004. The film created by Sony Pictures Imageworks was the first mainstream movie to incorporate motion capture with computer animation throughout. This allowed actor Tom Hanks to voice and 'act' several different roles with

completely separate identities and appearances. This use of motion capture inspired director Robert Zemeckis to progress the relatively new technique for his next film Beowulf.

Slide 20. Original theatrical Beowulf poster from 2005.

PRESENTER: When Beowulf hit cinemas in 2005 it was largely criticized for its thin plotline and short time scale. However critics and audiences alike couldn't fault the amazing visuals of the film. The effects used in the film were an amalgamation of several developed technologies used in other recent movies.

Slide 21. Images of Spiderman 3, Surf’s Up and Ghost Rider.

Technology used in Spiderman 3, Surf's Up and Ghost Rider were brought together to create an ultimate pallet of visual design. To create fully realistic human characters the actors involved with the project had to act out their scenes in front of a green back drop, wearing suits with motion detectors attached. CGI supervisor, Frankie Liu commented that with Beowulf ‘we don’t have to match film photography, but we are striving for a very familiar form of realism’ (Item 11.). In the post development stages the actors performances were processed into a computer and the CGI ‘skins’ were placed over the actors to create characters that physically differed almost completely from the respective actor, in some cases only retaining minor facial features.

Slide 22. Images of the actors involved in Beowulf against their respective characters.

In using this technique Beowulf is able to use veteran actors like Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich and alter their appearance which makes the audience concentrate more on the films character rather than the ‘actor’. Zemeckis said “I think the thing I love the most about working in the digital cinema is that you’re only limited in your cinematic technique by your imagination-you’re not restricted by the physical laws of nature”. (Item 11.)

Slide 23. Image of Ray Harryhausen.

Zemeckis also paid tribute to Ray Harryhausen; “He’s a stop-motion animation genius and a very early special effects pioneer…he had a lot of influence on me” (Item 11.).

PRESENTER: The technology used in Beowulf could alter the way Hollywood actors are perceived. If digital motion capture continues to develop, an actors ‘look’ could become irrelevant in film as the character they portray could look like an entirely different, realistic human being able to achieve unrealistic stunts and maneuvers.

Slide 24. Clip of Sea Monster scene from Beowulf.

Another positive feature of this technique is that it removes the need to blend live action and CGI on the same screen, which can lead to unconvincing effects.

The future of film technology.

CONCLUSION:

From the birth of special effects in early films such as King Kong through to recent blockbusters such as Beowulf, the progression of stop-motion and CGI has broadened the range of creative freedom open to filmmakers. Ground-breaking advancements in technology are being made all the time, changing our perception of films and increasing our expectations when it comes to the special effects, pushing directors and special effects companies to entertain their ever harder to please audiences.

From the very beginning of CGI in the film Westworld in 1973, the medium of computer based technology has advanced rapidly. The beginning of the 1990s saw fully realistic human characters created through CGI in mainstream cinema; films like Jurassic Park further evolved this groundbreaking technology by building creatures that, were it not for historical context, could very well be live action dinosaurs stomping across the screen. Further into the 2000s this art form is still progressing with the release of movies such as the epic Avator, an entire world built through computer programming that along with its inhabitants can hold up realism even against the closest scrutiny. Avatar also coincided with the rebirth of 3D Cinema to create an unfathomable vision on screen.

Slide 25. Image of Avatar.

In recent years, 3D Cinema has being reintroduced into theatres, regenerating the technique that first appeared thirty years ago. Because of the progressions in digital effects, 3D Cinema has evolved into a more convincing and effective form: "The only thing that makes any of this possible is digital technology, We use digital image processing in real time as we capture images and we shoot digitally, not on film as would have been done 30 years ago”. Schklair of 3ailty Digital. (Item 6.)

The recent 3D blockbuster smash, Avatar, has broken numerous records with it’s release at the box office, paving the way for deeper developments in the 3D technique, as time goes on it seems that filmmakers are going have to concentrate more on the atmosphere created in the theatre to impress their audience, rather than the effects on the screen.

"If you have directors like Spielberg, Jackson and Cameron, who are arguably the three biggest directors in the world, doing it, everyone else is going to start catching on. If those films prove to be hits, then 3D could well become the norm within the next decade.” (Item 7.)

Presentation script - Auteur focus

Presentation Script Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Word count 1616 without quotes, 1866 with quotes

Slide 1: Title: Jean-Pierre Jeunet; The visual style and themes of Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Slide 2: Photographs: Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Film posters.

Presenter: During my research project I looked at the theory of auteur and applied it to director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, looking at his visual style and the themes present in his films, and how through them, he can be considered an auteur; with reference to the films Amelie (Item 2), A Very Long Engagement (Item 3) and Alien: Resurrection(Item 1).

Slide 3: Bullet points of what I will be covering.

To illustrate in what ways Jeunet is an auteur I will be looking at the following topics within his work;

Themes that reoccur within his films;

-Claustrophobia/Confined spaces

-Mutilation

Jeunet’s use of mise-en-scene

-How colour helps to create atmosphere and meaning

-The fairytale world he creates

Slide 4: Auteur points.

Presenter: The concept of auteur as we see it now, first developed as an opposing response to the German Autorenfilm, which said that the rights as the films author belonged to the scriptwriter, and not the production team or director. The theory of auteur from French film making proposes the idea that there are certain recognisable marks of the film maker or director, and that when looking at a collection of their films it is easy to see these traits reoccur. The director’s signature can often be seen through the use of mise-en-scene, or cinematography – such as repeating use of colour or setting, and using the same shot types across their films (Item 12). This notion of auteur can be illustrated by;

Slide 5: “Alexandre Astruc's notion of the caméra-stylo or "camera-pen" and the idea that directors should wield their cameras like writers use their pens and that they need not be hindered by traditional storytelling” (Item 10)

Slide 6: Introducing Jean-Pierre Jeunet as an Auteur.

Presenter: My example of a director as an auteur is Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who is most famous for his film Amelie (Item 2), and his collaborations with fellow director Marc Caro. During his time as a director Jeunet has used many film making techniques such as puppet animation used in his early short films Le Manege and L’evasion, and animation used in Pas de repos pour Billy Brakko – all of which Jeunet worked in conjunction with Caro to create.

These early films show the development of the reoccurring themes of claustrophobia and fear of confined spaces present in all of Jeunet’s films, both with Caro and later in his own work. They also give a clear insight into the surreal fantasy fairytale world they both have the ability to create on screen. Like any other auteur Jeunet’s characteristics work by complementing one another.

Presenter: The first of Jeunet’s characteristic developed during his time spent with Caro, and stayed with him through all of his films, many writers and critics have commented on his use of themes; believing that they are a way of reflecting his own feelings about France, the country’s history and his identity as a director;

Slide 7: Quotation and Alien: Resurrection still.

Presenter: “Alien: Resurrection, aside from its perfunctory plot tells the story of the conflict between the director and his surroundings”. (Item 11)

Presenter: As well as Alien: Resurrection telling the story of his struggle with Hollywood and national identity Amelie is one of Jeunet's most personal films, reflecting his own life and thoughts; and so being the medium for his personal artistic expression.

Slide 8: “Amelie is my favourite. It’s very personal – my own life, my own ideas and my own story.” (Item 13)

Slide 9: Stills illustrating Claustrophobia/confined spaces in Alien: Resurrection/A Very Long Engagement.

As I’ve already mentioned Jeunet repeatedly shows a characters struggle to escape from a situation relevant to the film (Item 11); in A Very Long Engagement (Item 3) Manech and the other soldiers are

constantly struggling to free themselves from the army, as we can see in the first set of stills, there is a juxtaposition of the trenches and the vast open landscape – depicting a freedom which they long for, but are not quite able to achieve. The films settings usually confine the characters within one place, like Alien: Resurrection (Item 1); the characters are restricted to two ships within the entire film; this is again shown on screen through the dark restricted mise-en-scene which gives the feeling of the characters entrapment.

Slide 10: Stills illustrating Claustrophobia/confined spaces in Amelie.

Presenter: In Amelie (Item 2), she desperately wants her father to venture outside the house and break the restraints of his depression after her mother’s death; although in Amelie the restriction is metaphorical rather than literal; the gnome being an embodiment of her father’s self containment. Here Amelie is breaking the concrete around its feet and therefore setting the gnome and her father free

Slide 11: Postcard screenshots

Presenter: She then goes on to send the gnome on a round-the-world trip and eventually her father builds up the courage to leave his house.

Other themes which continuously reoccur within Jeunet’s films include mutilation of the human form (Item 11). The theme of mutilation is - as with Claustrophobia, an obvious one, with blatant and sometimes horrific depictions of self mutilation.

Slide 12: Screenshots of Bunker depicting mutilation.

Presenter: Although The Bunker Of The Last Gunshots (Item 4) is not one of my focus films, it shows the early onset of the theme of mutilation, the film is also reflected in his later films such as Foutaises through the collection of anatomical artefacts, and in Alien: Resurrection (Item 1) through the military’s collection of surgical implements.

Slide 13: Screenshots of Surgical implements/anatomical artefacts.

Presenter: In A Very Long Engagement (Item 3) the entire narrative is pushed forward through both of the themes; wanting to escape from the confines of war through self mutilation.

Slide 14: Video clip of self mutilation in A Very Long Engagement.

Presenter: The clip of A Very Long Engagement (Item 3) shows the lengths the soldiers’ will go to, to escape the confines of the trenches and that they are even willing to mutilate themselves in order to gain their freedom. Alien: Resurrection (Item 1) shows more horrific depictions of

mutilation, using the clones of Ripley as a way of showing a distorted vision of the human form; with Jeunet possibly commenting on his own directorial techniques, as he often ‘reuses’ material from his previous films.

Slide 15: Alien: Resurrection clone stills.

Presenter: The idea of deformed clones and self image is used previously in The City Of Lost Children (Item 5), in which the clones are hopelessly searching for the original. The idea of self image is also touched on in Foutaises when Dominique Pinon’s character says he likes making love to a woman, but does not like to think about what is inside; which in his eyes is possibly grotesque, and not what we should associate women with (Item 11). His use of clones also brings in the idea of postmodernism, questioning the originality of texts; and Jeunet's repeated reference to his own films and his use of archival material; such as in Amelie (Item 2), when she first learns of Dianna’s death there is a news item on her television which she is watching.

Slide 16: Amelie Dianna death

Presenter: During character introductions in Amelie (Item 2) there is a voice over in which Amelie presents the audience with the characters likes and dislikes; the “I like, I don’t like” voice over is first used in Foutaises and then again reused here. Jeunet’s reuse of material gives a bricolage style to his films; through this the films become even more surreal, like a collection of stories.

Slide 17: Amelie/Foutaises stills with quotations.

Presenter: Jeunet’s visual style is very distinct, and when compared with the films of another director it is easy to determine which one is his. Through his use of colour and mise-en-scene he manages to create a surreal fairytale world which encapsulates his audiences. (Item 9)

Slide 18: Stills from The City of Lost Children.

Presenter: Looking at the selective colour palette Jeunet restricts his films to, also restricts the mise-en-scene and in turn reinforces the themes within his films.

Slide 19: Juarez Machado images. “Jeunet displayed reproductions of Machado’s painting on the work spaces of set designers, costume designers, and set decorators working on the film.” (Item 11)

Presenter: Amelie (Item 2) is a brilliant example of Jeunet's choice of colour, choosing to stick to the same colour palette as the paintings of Juarez

Machado. During the time of the films’ production Jeunet used reproductions of Juarez Machado’s work in order to restrict and inspire the creativity of the designers. Using Juarez’s work gave the film a colour palette dominated by ambers and yellows giving a distinctly golden glow. (Item 11)

Slide 20: Amelie colour palette stills. “I wanted to make a fake Paris, like in my head when I was twenty and I arrived in Paris for the first time. I wanted to avoid the bad things; traffic jams, dog shit on the street, the rain” (Item 7)

Presenter: Mise-en-scene within Alien: Resurrection (Item 1) is again limited to very few colours; the look is metallic and dark due to the amount of greens and greys used.

Slide 21: Stills of colour

Presenter: The overall visual style of Jeunet’s films portrays a fantastic surreal fairytale world, not only because of his visual style but because of the narrative surrounding his films. The story of the gnome and its travels around the world is a prime example; a possible childhood fantasy made up by someone’s parents.

Slide 22: “I did a kind of collection of stories, memories... Almost everything is true, not the gnome – I heard that story two hundred times.” (Item 8)

Presenter: Jeunet, during his time as a director has produced a range of stories, each different from the next. Despite there being a clear over lap of his time spent with Caro and his own work there is also a distinct line between the dramatic post-apocalyptic work of both Jeunet and Caro, and the surreal colourful work of Jeunet, himself, creates; proving that Jeunet has his own style and technique when it comes to creating a film and being an auteur. (Item 8)

Side 23: “Cinema since the New Wave always seems to be about a couple fighting in the kitchen. I prefer to write positive stories.” (Item 6)

Slide 24: “I think I’m the only director is the French language whose films are released everywhere in the world, maybe I’m just lucky, or maybe it’s just because my films are more visual” (Item 11)

Presenter: Overall Jeunet’s films clearly show a distinct collection of reoccurring characteristics, which reflect Jeunet as a director and an Auteur; arguably he fits the definition of an auteur set by French critics. He clearly uses what Astruc termed the ‘camera pen’ to vividly illustrate his themes and world view in a way for his audience to enjoy and be enthralled by.

“A crowd-pleasing maverick who revels in the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, Jeunet stands apart from many of his more po-faced French contemporaries.” (Item 9)

Presentation script – Star/performer focus

Presentation Script

Christian Bale – Method acting

PowerPoint Slide 1, Title page

Presenter In my research I looked at the style of acting that Christian Bale uses in his approach to films. I found this to be method acting for most of his films, most notably The Machinist (Item 1).

PowerPoint Slide 2, what I will cover.

Presenter In this presentation I will cover:

Method – History and development

Bale’s acting techniques and techniques.

PowerPoint Slide 3 – What is method acting? Quote.

Presenter Method acting is a technique in which actors try to engender themselves in the thoughts and emotions of their character to try and create a lifelike performance. Though not all Method actors use the same approach, the "method" in Method acting usually refers to the practice by which actors draw upon their own emotions and memories in their portrayals, aided by a set of exercises and practices including sense memory and affective memory. A famous quote from one of the most notable method actors of our time was, “When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn't acting. It's following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that.” (Item 7) I entirely agree with this quote as it shows that method actors have passion in the work that they do and are fully committed to give the best possible performance.

PowerPoint Slide 4 and 5 – Quotes on method acting

Presenter Method acting is a style of acting founded in 1947 which was derived from the Soviet actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski. The Method was to act completely naturally, to so infuse one’s self with the thoughts, emotions and personality of the character and still has a big effect on how actors portray their characters on screen (Item 4). Stanislavski believed the ideal actor to be someone who is in control, who has mastered his craft and achieved total artistic independence. He also believed actors to be responsible for maintenance and development of their skills (Item 5)

PowerPoint Slide 6 – Photo of Marlon Brando

Presenter The first major actors to adopt the ‘Method’ in their style of acting was Marlon Brando; A Streetcar Named Desire and James Dean; East of

Eden (slide 7-James Dean), these actors style were considered a breakthrough in the acting world. Other notable actors who have also used this style of acting are Al Pacino; The Godfather (slide 8-Al Pacino), Paul Newman; Somebody up There Likes Me (slide 9-Paul Newman) and Robert DeNiro; Raging Bull (slide 10-Robert DeNiro) . It is believed that method acting is one of the most difficult techniques to learn as there are no technical forms or lessons that can be practiced by the actor. “The main difference between the art of the actor and all other arts is that every other artist may create whenever he is in the mood of inspiration. But the artist of the stage must be the master of his own inspiration and must know how to call it forth when it is announced on the posters of the theatre. This is the chief secret of our art.” (Item 7)

PowerPoint Slide 11, Introduction to video clip

Video Clip Slide 12, from Brad Anderson’s The Machinist (Item 1). A section of the scene where Christian Bale is topless in Stevie’s apartment (1 minute)

PowerPoint Slide 13 –Shots from The Machinist (Item 1)

Presenter The Machinist (Item 1) is a 2005 mystery thriller starring Christian Bale who plays the role of insomniac Trevor Reznik. Trevor is a lathe operator who hasn’t slept in a year and slowly starts to lose his sanity as bizarre things start happening around him at work and at home; He’s haunted by a co-worker who only he can see and keeps finding post-it notes with secret messages on his fridge. He attempts to investigate what appears to be a mysterious plot against him and, in the process, embroils two women in his madness.

Presenter Christian Bale took method acting to the extreme when he lost 1/3 of his body weight as well as going without sleep for a period of time to get into the mindset of his character. Bales diet consisted of one apple and a can of tuna a day which helped him drop down from 180lb to a measly 120lb.

PowerPoint Slide 14, quote from Bale

Presenter Many people questioned whether Bales weight loss was necessary for a movie not aimed at a worldwide, mainstream audience; “…For an indie movie that really not a lot of people are ever going to see, is that kind of physical sacrifice worth it?” (Item 9)

PowerPoint Slide 14, quote from Bale

Presenter However Bale did believe it was worthwhile losing all that weight as he said that he wanted to set himself a challenge and to have the mental discipline not to waver from it. He also didn’t care that the movie was not going to be seen by millions as that is not why he makes films; “To

me a movie doesn't become better just because a lot of people go see it at all. My primary satisfaction for making movies is actually in the making of the movie.” (Item 9)

Presenter The thing I found surprising when reading an interview with Christian Bale about The Machinist (Item 1), is that he never intended to lose as much weight as he did but in doing so he ended up losing as what he said “the weight that was specified in the script”(Item 8)(Slide 15). Also, losing as much weight as he did allowed Bale to be in the best possible mind frame for the role, “I wasn’t distracted by nervous energy, never awake or asleep…It was good for the part” (Item 6). Bale never considered using CGI instead of going through the ordeal of losing that much weight even though people kept asking him why and that he should’ve done but Bale responded with “I don't have enough faith in CGI really for doing that” (Item 8) plus he enjoyed the challenge and self-destructive urges involved in losing the weight.

PowerPoint Slide 16, Introduction to clip from Batman Begins (Item 2)

PowerPoint Slide 17, clip from Batman Begins (Item 2)

Presenter Straight after filming The Machinist (Item 1), Bale had put back on the weight that he lost in just 6 months to get into the physique so he could play Bruce Wayne in Batman but only had 6 weeks until the screentest to put on enough weight to convince the studio to cast him the role “Chris wanted to make sure I wasn't so skinny for the screen test… So in about six weeks I put on about 60 pounds, just eating. I didn't work out, I just ate - that was it.” (Item 12) Batman Begins (Item 2) is the story of how Bruce Wayne became what he was destined to be: Batman.

PowerPoint Slide 18, quote from Bale

Presenter This is another example of the extreme lengths Bale will go to just to get into the role of a character. Bale did this by simply just eating 5 meals a day, “I was straight into pizza and ice cream and everything, and just eating five meals in a sitting. My stomach, it just expanded really quickly”. (Item 11) However this only got the weight back and not his muscle which he needed for the role of Batman therefore he trained for four months, 3 hours a day to get back into shape, “We had about three, four months of just like three hours every single day of very intense working out”. (Item 11)

PowerPoint Slide 19 – Images of the 3 movie posters

Presenter After Batman, Bale went on to make two other indie films (Harsh Times and the New World) before director Werner Herzog cast him to play Dieter Dengler in Rescue Dawn (Item 3). Rescue Dawn (Item 3) reveals how Dieter Dengler, the only American to ever break out of a POW camp in the impenetrable Laotian jungle, relied on the most

primal qualities of evasion, stamina, persistence and audacity to find his way home.

PowerPoint Slide 20 – Introduction to a clip from Rescue Dawn (Item 3)

PowerPoint Slide 21 – Clip from Rescue Dawn (Item 3)

PowerPoint Slide 22, quote from Bale

Presenter The film was another example of Christian Bale’s method acting and weight loss as for the role he lost 55 pounds and as well as the weight loss, Bale also did his own ‘stunts’ by eating live maggots; “…they were very real. I didn't mind eating the maggots, but I just wanted to make sure about where the maggots had come from” (Item 10) and swimming in snake-infested waters; “…you're not acting the swimming in snake infested river. You are swimming in a snake infested river”. (Item 10)

PowerPoint Slide 23, quote from Bale

Presenter Even though Bale is a prominent method actor, his techniques to acting are not that clear as confessed by himself he doesn’t really have a consistent style or technique but varies from each film he does; “I really don't have any consistent style or technique whatsoever and I'm pretty happy with working that way.” (Item 10)

PowerPoint Slide 24 – The Fighter images

Presenter Even today Bale continues to go to the extremes of acting, with his upcoming film The Fighter another film in which he loses a vast amount of weight to play a drug dealing ex-boxer.

PowerPoint Slide 25, quote from Brad Anderson

Presenter While on the set of Terminator Salvation, Bale came under criticism for a public outburst at Shane Hurlbut the cinematographer of the film after he walked through Bale’s line of sight. However, I believe the reason Bale reacted with such anger and in the manner that he did was because he was so caught up in his character which is evident in his other roles too and because the scene that they were filming was the most intense and emotional scene in the entire film and this is another example of his desire to put all that he can into every role that he plays, whether it’s a big-budget movie like Terminator is or an indie movie such as The Machinist (Item 1) or Rescue Dawn (Item 3).

PowerPoint Slide 26

Presenter To conclude, I would say that Christian Bale is in fact a method actor, mainly because of the tremendous mental and psychical torture he puts himself through just so he can give a convincingly, memorable performance. ”His approach for a performance is to put himself as close as you can to the actual physical qualities of the character” (Item

13). It makes one wonder what lengths actors will go to just to be in character, to be honest, this is a pretty frightening thought but also one of excitement…

Word count with quotes: 1813

Word count without quotes: 1465