Chocolat/The Notebook

In the movie Chocolat, the set is very important to the overall effect of the film. The set is made up of neutral colors like grays, whites, blacks, and browns. I think that the director wanted the audience to get the feeling that the town was boring and didn’t do a lot of things that were out of the box. The set made you feel depressed and sad just because of the colors and how everything looked the same. When the movie first started you really got a sense that the town was strict and didn’t like change. Throughout the movie things did change because of Vianne, and the set got more colors but there still wasn’t a whole lot. From the change in the set, you did get the feeling that the town and people were changing and that was a good thing.
I think this film was shot on two major parts of the set. One was the chocolate shop and the other was the town itself. I think that is was shot in the town because it was showing how the loved tradition and didn’t want to change anything. It was also shot manly in the chocolate shop because that is where Vianne got people to let go of old traditions and try temptation and be happy with their lives. Vianne changed the town and that is why the film was shot a lot in the chocolate shop because it represented new life and happiness for the gloomy town.
With the costumes that the art director chose, I think that he was trying to show us that change was going to happen. There were the towns’ people that wore neutral colors and nothing vibrant. When Vianne came into town, her daughter and her were wearing bright red cloaks. This was a symbol that change was coming into the town. Vianne always wore bright colors even though the towns’ people didn’t. When Vianne changed someone, they started to also wear red and other bright colors. You always knew when someone changed because of the clothes that they wore.
I think that the lighting for the film was very appropriate because it wasn’t too harsh. The lighting was somewhere in the middle of harsh and soft. It really fit the film because it didn’t put too much emphasis on any one character. When Vianne was in the scene the light did seem to be softer and brighter than if the mayor or another towns man was in the scene. The lighting never had big shadows or was extremely bright; I think that is was very calm throughout the movie.
I think that the director was trying to tell us that the town needed change by the style of lighting that they chose. When Vianne came into the set he was telling us that the town needed her change for the people. The director wanted to show us that change was good by making Vianne seem brighter.
In the article “Why ‘American Beauty’ Works: Focus on the Use of Symbols,” it talked about how in the movie America Beauty the color red symbolized a lot of things for different characters. In the Chocolat, the color red also symbolized a lot of different things. It symbolized change coming into the town when Vianne came wearing a red cloak. When Vianne hands out chocolate, she usually ties a red around the bag. When the customer takes it home something changes in their life that makes them happy. The color red mainly symbolizes the good change in the town that is making people happy. The message that is being sent is that change is a good thing sometimes and it can really make people happy about their lives.
In the movie The Notebook, I believe that the set is important for the overall effect of the film but not as important as the set for the film Chocolat. The set is important to show that there is flashbacks to when Noah and Allie were younger because things need to look like they were from when they teenagers.
I think that there were two main sets in The Notebook. I think that the first one was the nursing home and the second one was the town that Allie went to in the summer. I think that the film was shot at the nursing home to show that Allie was sick and ready to die. I think that the film was also shot at Allie’s summer town to show Allie and Noah’s relationship of how they met and fell in love.
I think that the art director was trying to tell the audience that there is still hope and love after you think you have lost someone you love with the costumes that they chose. The costumes are very bright with colors and Allie is always looking free and careless with everything she wears. Noah and Allie both portray love with the colors they wear such as white, baby blue, purple, and green. I love the scene when Allie comes back to see Noah and the house he built her and she is wearing a baby blue outfit. I think the director is symbolizing that Allie belonged to Noah all along and that she is open for the love again. The costumes that Noah and Allie wear at the nursing home are more dark and neutral showing that they still have love but things have changed.
I believe that the lighting for the film was appropriate because it was always really bright and soft when Noah and Allie were together falling in love, yet it was also harsh when things were going bad and Noah and Allie were fighting and in the nursing home when Allie didn’t remember things. I believe that the lighting is therefore harsh yet soft.
I think that the director is trying to tell his audience that even when there are hard times in your love life, you can always get through them and your relationship can grow and become even brighter than before by the style of lighting that he is using. He is showing that things can get dark and gloomy but there is always the bright things to look forward to in love.
I think that the colors that are prominent are red and blue. Allie always seems to be wearing red lipstick and I think that symbolizes Allie’s love for Noah. There is also the bright red sunset at the beginning of the movie that maybe symbols that their love is coming to an end. I think that blue is another prominent color because Allie always seems to be wearing blue, the house shutters were blue, and the sky was blue when they went in the boat. I think that the blue shows love as I talked about before and that there was always a part of Allie with Noah even when she wasn’t actually with him. I think that the message that was being sent was Allie and Noah were right for each all along, they just didn’t know it.