Task 1: Setting
The setting includes the time and place that the film occurs in. It is easy to ignore the setting as it seems a natural backdrop for the film, however, it is often used to create meaning and enhance the storyline. Is the setting integral to the storyline? Could it be set somewhere else? If so how would this affect the interpretation of the film?
Use these images to comment on the setting of ‘Run Lola Run’. – time + place etc. Why was it chosen for this film? Discuss the director’s ( Tom Twyker’s) use of set design. What impressions does it create for the audience? How does the setting contribute to the narrative? ( Does it add meaning to the story?) How does it contribute to the development of the characters?
on February 15th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
The setting for run Lola run is an essential element to this film. At the start of RLR the audience views the city of Berlin from an extreme long shot, this introduction to Berlin sets the pace and feel for RLR. The city view reflects the fast energetic and busy storyline, whilst the grimy concrete city also mirrors the tough and hardened Manni and strong willed Lola.wonderful observation The audience can also see a train line in this quick sequence, which is where a major turning point occurs.??? From this perspective the viewer can also observe the maze for Lola to run in.fantastic for these reasons if the setting was changed maybe to the countryside, it would considerably alter the plot of RLR and weatherwhether the storyline would work. Questions like why are big time gangsters in a quiet country town? And the ambiance of the countryside is a laidback relaxed feel so why is Lola frantically running around? Would drastically make the narrative for RLR un-realistic and un-believable. right
Lola and Manni’s flat is a key feature for character development.Actually Lola’s room in her mum’s house The camera intensely zooms in like a microscope does on bacteria into Lola’s flat. Giving the audience some background to the main characters. Without this flat the audience would have little character development and the story would have minimal impact, so TwykerTykwer takes the time (after Lola has done hethe famous banshee like yell) to closely scrutinize the apartment. A series of shots aimed at telling the audience a little about Manni and Lola form the foundations to a great storyline. From what the audience can see by the pictures of teeth and eyes, mess and various scattered trinkets and ornaments (including Barbie’s, photos and drawings.) it is ’suggested’ is a better word communicated that Lola and Manni are a little strange and eccentric and have eclectic personalities. In this series of quick shots the audience also spots a tortoises that mocks and maybe is an irony to the rapid run Lola run narrative.excellent Another contributor to the narrative is the flat overall, the fact that it is a flat means that Lola and Manni are not plentiful with their money, this emphasizes the task of coming up with 100,000 as an impossible one, it also suggestsgood word to the audience that they are not lucky people and are seemingly underdogs which provokes a more emotional attachment to these two characters. wowThe phone is also included in this flat as a key feature, it is the start of Lola’s adrenaline filled journey and its color is an important reoccurring conventioncode actually, which can be interpreted in many different ways. fantastic effort
Nicholas- you have made and excellent start with thoughtful observations. Well done
on February 19th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Red Phone: this shot, being at the start of the film,opening sequence tells viewers that the story will start in messy room, probably a bedroom because of the magazines lying messily on the ground and the photos and scaps of paper around the phone. these things would unlikely be found in any other room. the table and the floorboards show that the room is not in an expensive building because thier condition. Red phones are usually used as emergancy phones. because this phone is red, the audience can expect that some kind of emergancy call will made to it or with it.great use of a code- red for meaning the close up shot makes the audience curious about the rest of the room.great idea
Satelite: This shot is great for showing the audience where the film is going to take place. in reference to the game aspect of the movie, this shot is a kind of a map that gets shown at the begining of the game to show they player (Lolo) Lolawhere they have to go. it sets the overall scene for the movie. it shows that it will be set in a city in modern time. Good Sam, however you have probably analysed ’shot type’ or ‘mise en scene’ more than ’setting’ as the question asked. How does the director’s choice of setting the film in downtown Berlin impact on the storyline?
on February 19th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I think the setting inside Berlin is complimentary to the story Run Lola Run. The inner city creates a feeling of rushing and busyness, which sets the backdrop of the storyline. Lola is running around the city, in a race against time to give Manni money, in which she bumps into many different types of people along the way. If for instance the setting was in the country, the feeling or mood of the setting would seem more relaxed and the amount of people Lola would run into could be considerably smaller. It would also lose the suspense and hurriedness of the film; making it more stress-free and detract from the initial storyline.or key theme which is a race against time The aerial shot over the city of Berlin contributes to the audiences understanding of the setting.yay It allows them to see the routes in which Lola could take on her journey and mirrors the fast paced scene in the city. The shot then zooms into the room of Lola who takes a phone call on her red phone. The red possibly suggests blood, death or fate.excellent using the words ‘possibly suggests’ here Tykwer yayuses colours in order to represent themes and shows the films structure. The setting and set design ties in with the characters and allows the audience to “get to know them” without requiring dialogue. Tom Tykwer uses colours also to demonstrate the personality of the character. Lola is surrounded by the colour green, representing nature and growth depicting her as a force of nature, where as Manni is surrounded by yellow/gold, representing his need for money. The fact that Lola and Manni both live with her parents suggest not much wealth and the need of finding it perhaps more difficult. Tykwer’s repetitive display of symbols in his set design contributes to the themes and the characters. Emphasising time and fate through the use of colour, clocks and swirls, the symbols allowed the audience to link the story to the need for money in a certain time frame.wow! excellent response Kaz, you have created some very thoughtful responses and original ideas. Fantastic start! virtual freddo for you!
on February 20th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
having the close-up of the phone, shows to the auidence that a call coming through or a call that Lola makes is really important.
the aerial shot of the city, is displaying how far Lola has runmight run- its shown before we know the story, in what turns out to be 20mis.
it is also displaying that the the location is in a city. cities are generally known for being busy and full of people. Some good observations Andrea, but you needed to answer the question in a little more detail. Eg. We know that the city is a busy place, how does that contribute to the storyline?
on February 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
The film is set in Berlin, Germany’s capital city. The aerial view of the city is an important part of the opening sequence, introducing the audience to where the storyline is set- in a fast paced city. goodThe structure of the city and many roads suggest paths that Lola could take on her run.right, narrative possibilities? The setting for ‘Run Lola Run’ is integral to the storyline, as it is a fast-paced film that involves a race against time to accumulate money. For example, it wouldn’t work if it were set in a spacecraft in outer space, because the storyline would hardly make any sense (Why would there be a need for so much money in outer space?), and it wouldn’t be possible to explore key themes such as time and causalityexcellent in such detail. Similarly, if it wouldn’t seem appropriate set in rural Germany as the countryside doesn’t tend to have the same urgency about time as the city does.right
As the aerial view of Berlin zooms into Lola’s apartment and into her room, the audience is faced with a shot of a red telephone. From this shot the audience is already learning about the protagonist.nice word The spread of magazines on the floor and desk tell us that Lola is young (teenager/early adulthood) and isn’t particular about being neat (this is further acknowledged when we first see Lola with her messy vibrant hair and the visibility of her bra throughout the film).good observation The condition of the telephone and her furniture (which we see later) suggests that she isn’t wealthy. This is important as the phone call she is about to receive requires her to find a large sum of money.great observations and original ideas Lucy- virtual caramello koala for you
on February 22nd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
So i think Never start a year 12 response in any subject with thisthat tywkersTykwer use of the camera shot to show the city (berlin, germany) really sets up the rest of the story and shows the audience what its going to be about. When you go to a city its really busy and fast because everyone has somewhere to go and somewhere to be by a certain time, which is the main theme of the movie. When the camera then goes into Lolas room and stops on the RED phone you then expect for something to happen, like its going to ring. The reason that i put red in capital is because tywker used lots of colours in the movie to represent different things like red could be fate, death or pain of some type where as gold was for wealth and the need for money for Manni.
Jess, this answer is ok for a start, however, you needed to use the right language and answer the question from the prompts I gave you in the question. There is lots more to talk about in ’setting’
on February 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
The aerial shot of Berlin creates the setting and the feeling of buisiness, and the rush of the city filled with people.good it creates suspence to what is going to happen in the story. It suggests great wordthat Lola might take a long journey throughout the movie. The size of the city shows that Lola is one small person, and her race against time (the key theme of Run Lola Run) will probibly not be an easy one.very good
The close up of the red phone creates a feeling of urgaency, a rush of adrenaline in an emergancy (as a stereotype, red phones a generally emergancy phones)good observation. The colour red symbolises anger, love, passion and even violence. It creates an unknown feeling in which Lola is feeling towards Manni, her boyfriend, and the situation he has dragged her into. As a highangle-shot, the phone seems small and insignificant, but also a large part of the movie, as it takes up most of the photonot photo- frame. Other objects in the photo create curiosity to the other objects in the room, and to why they are there. good work Kat- virtual chupa chup for you
on February 24th, 2009 at 9:29 am
In the opening sequence we are given an aerial shot of Berlin. This instantly gives us the setting of the film; we understand that the story will take place in Berlin.great We then are shown a large zoom shot very quickly into Lola’s bedroom; this suggestsexcellent that Lola is a very small and unimportant piece, compared to the size of the city.great again This set was chosen because the big city conjures the ideas of fast pace and ruthless and selfish people. If the movefilm had been set in space then it wouldn’t work as there would be nowhere to run. If it were set on a beach it would not imply speed but relaxation and slow moving people.right Lola’s apartment is very messy, and dark, suggesting that she not someone with responsibilities or a conservative job. The room on closer inspection shows some gothic items like the clock with all the numbers pulled off and replaced with other ones, this may mean that she is arty and has a creative steak (also suggested by her outfit) the outlandish colours in the rood like a red phone also imply she is creative and an individual. The set was chosen to show Lola before we even see her, it gives us an outline of Lola and her life and how she fits into her surroundings.right- the setting, location and props drive the narrative- well done Tom- virtual milkyway for you
on March 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
in the opening sequence of this movie it clearly shows the city of berlin. the aerialshot of the city gives us a clearly view of whats the movie is about and the way they zoomed into the city then lola’s house and then the phone.
by so doing we get understandthat the phone call is the most important scenerio in this movie because its what we see at the start.the picture of city and phone sets out evrything thats gives the audience an idea of what’s going to happen as the film is named run lola run. we can also see train tracks in this photo and some roads and this is a symbol that they are going to be used or important throughout the whole movie.
as tywker uses alot colour to represents whats going to happen; he uses red on the phone to represent the sense of imegency and how important the phone might be in this movie.a good start Tawanda- get them done on time in future please
on March 10th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
In the opening sequence of Run Lola Run there is an aerial shot of Berlin in Germany. Which is considered a busy city, therefore suiting the storyline better than if it was in the middle of nowhere. The aerial shot of Berlin gives us an insight on where the film and storyline is taken place.good There is then a fast zoom into the apartment where Lola supposedly lives. The camera then zooms onto the phone which is not modern and is red. The colour red is generally the danger and more hazardous colour, which was the perfect colour to use as the audience found out that the situation was bad.right
Her apartment is very messy, with magazines and clothes all over the floor and glasses scattered around the room. This suggests that she may be lazy, poor and jobless although we don’t know this but the perspective of the camera views shows us she might be. The setting is what sets the storyline and gives us the changenot change, indication of of narrative possibilities.