The Secret Language of Comics

The scene I chose to recreate was not from a movie but from the sitcom Friends. I chose this scene because I recently decided to rewatch the sitcom and this scene was very memorable. I tried to wear as many clothes and shorts as I could, but after 5 shirts and 4 shorts I was already sweating and the shorts felt like they would burst any moment. The biggest obstacle I encountered was thinking of a movie scene to recreate. I spent a lot of time searching for movie scenes and thinking back on notable moments, but I could not think of any. At last, my inspiration came to me when I was watching Friends while eating. Overall, I am happy with my result and enjoyed this assignment a lot.

Rocky is truly one of the most inspiring and iconic stories in American culture. This scene encapsulates much of the fighter’s persona, proving time and time again that he could overcome adversity and reach the top of hill. I have always had a fascination with combat sports similarly to Rocky, but quickly realized that I did not want to sacrifice my brain and physical health a couple years ago after trying out boxing and wrestling. Today I still adore these films for their message of grit and actualization of the American dream. Though I am not training for a fight against the heavyweight champion of the world, I still like to take Rocky’s mindset and apply it to my workouts and life in general.

The photo that I decided to recreate was from Episode 1 of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I am a huge Star Wars fan, and I have been since I was about ten years old. I even keep up with all of the recent TV shows and all of the fan films and theories as well. This scene depicts the Sith lord “Darth Maul” first showing off his double-bladed lightsaber. I remember my dad showed me and my twin brother this scene for the first time; we thought it was the coolest thing in the world.  I decided to recreate this scene to capture the emotion we felt when we first saw it. I also wanted to create something that pays tribute to one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, in my opinion, because this was the first time in Star Wars history that a double-bladed lightsaber was seen on television. I had a lot of fun creating this scene. Darth Maul is one of my favorite Star Wars villains ever, and this assignment was a good break from the midterm studying I have been doing this month. 

I recreated a scene from one of my favorite movies, When Harry Met Sally. I thought that this would be very easy to recreate, but positioning my body and the props was actually pretty difficult… even when I did a side by side comparison multiple times before the actual shot. Looking back on this picture, the poster above my head and Sally’s comforter are actually very similar, so if I could reshoot this, I would take down my poster and use it as the blanket.

I chose to replicate a moment from the film Talk to Me. I made this scene in the library with the help of a friend who played the “hand” that possessed the characters in the film. I recently watched this film with my friends, and it was by far the worst film I’d ever seen, so I decided to recreate it. I couldn’t catch the background or the candle because I was limited with my  resources, but I did want the attention to be on the hand because it was the whole purpose of the film.

This scene is from Dead Poet’s Society. I decided to recreate this scene after I found inspiration surfing through the internet and it seemed relatively easy. However, my wardrobe options were very limited and I had to borrow the blazer from a friend. Additionally, getting the setting right was hard but I tried my best in my dorm room. After taking the picture, I forgot to copy the hand positions and facial expressions, but overall I was happy on the product considering my limiting materials.

While I was initially fretting about which movie scene to choose, I noticed a green dress in my friend’s closet. The green dress immediately reminded me of the heroine in the movie Atonement. I was fascinated by its tragedy when I first watched this movie. In the recreation of the iconic scene from “Atonement,” where the character Cecilia sits on the edge of a fountain at night, contemplating deeply, the essence is captured through meticulous attention to mood and setting. I chose the steps near White Hall that is surrounded by trees to replicate the dim environment. The moonlight and lighting in the recreation, with a soft glow in the backdrop and a night setting, helps replicate the dramatic and moody atmosphere of the film’s scene. I really love this assignment because it relates movie scenes with our daily life.

I decided to recreate one of the most iconic scenes in film history — Rose and Jack’s sunset scene from Titanic (1997).

The Original:

https://www.khou.com/article/entertainment/watch-100-most-iconic-movie-scenes-of-all-time/285-259158565

My Recreation (ft. my Roommate):

Coming into the project, I hadn’t thought much about some of the smaller details that go into making an image. However, it was only after comparing my photo to the one taken from the movie that I began realizing the small things that made a big impact on the final product. For example, the intentional choices in camera angles, distance, and centering made the original photo much more emotionally expressive in ways that are difficult to put into words. Having mastery over this concept is, i’ve realized, what makes the best movie directors stand out from the rest.