| Film Title | Baby Driver |
| Year | 2017 |
| Director | Edgar Wright |
| Country | United States of America |
| Genre | Action |
| If you could work on this film (change it), what would you change and why? | I would make the film a little bit longer because I loved this movie and I wanted it to go on longer. |
As you view films, consider how the cuts, camera angles, shots, and movement work to create particular meanings. Think about how they establish space, privilege certain characters, suggest relationships, and emphasize themes. In addition to shot distances, angles, editing, and camera movement, note details of the narrative, setting, characters, lighting, props, costume, tone, and sound.
Ask yourself the following questions:
| TOPIC | YOUR NOTES |
| 1. Who is the protagonist? | The main character and Protagonist is Miles or “Baby”. |
| 2. Who is the antagonist? | The antagonist’s fake name is Buddy, we never learn his real name. |
| 3. What is the conflict? | The conflict is Baby being forced to work as a get away driver for criminals and so desperately wants to not be. |
| 4. What is the theme? (summarize in one or two words) | Baby’s moral shift. |
| 5. How is the story told (linear, with flashbacks, flash-forwards, at regular intervals) | Regular intervals with flashbacks. |
| 6. What “happens” in the plot (Brief description)? | Baby is a guy who has to be a getaway driver for this guy who organizes teams of people to rob banks and stuff because Baby stole from him when he was younger. Baby when he was a child lost his mother in a car crash that gave him tinnitus so he plays music to drown out the ringing. He then meets a girl that works at a diner that he falls in love with and he wants to leave this life behind to drive away on the road with her. But then his getaway goes wrong when one of his partners kills a cop so he drives them into a pole, the other two partners track him down but one of them dies to the cops and he ends up killing the other partner. In the end he get’s caught by the cops and goes to jail, but he gets released early. |
| 7. How does the film influence particular reactions on the part of viewers (sound, editing, characterization, camera movement, etc.)? Why does the film encourage such reactions? | The film uses music to the fullest extent. In all of the action and getaway scenes every crash horn and clap matches exactly with the beat of the song that is going on. In the scenes that he spends with his girlfriend the beat is more happy and light hearted and again everything matches exactly with the beat of the song that is going on. But in the more serious moments like when he has to meet up with his robbing team after each crime the background is grey and darker and there is no music and you can hear a slight ringing in the back ground which represents Baby’s tinnitus. When he is with his girlfriend there are usually bright and vibrant colors in the background and when he is at his apartment with his foster father the walls and room is very vibrantly colored to signify that he is happy. During the escape sequences, the music is at a faster pace and more epic to set the tone as a fast paced action scene. |
| 8. Is the setting realistic or stylized? What atmosphere does the setting suggest? Do particular objects or settings serve symbolic functions? | The setting is realistic in a city in a car outside of a bank but the music lining up with the wind shield wipers on the car and the tapping of his fingers and the closing of the doors seems a little unrealistic. The atmosphere feels like the quiet before the storm the music is ramping up and you can just tell that something big is about to happen. The beat of the music lining up with every action and significant movement shows that this seems to be from Baby’s point of view because his favorite thing in the world is music and it is basically his whole life. |
| 9. How are the characters costumed and made-up? What does their clothing or makeup reveal about their social standing, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age? How do costume and makeup convey character? | Baby always wheres shades when he has to do anything illegal, he is the only character that wears white, it signifies his innocence and how he is trying to shield himself from the world of crime. At the beginning the members of his crime team except him are all wearing black which represents evil and shows that these people are high class criminals. The other criminal in his second and third heists is named Leon or “Bats” and he always wheres red which matches the color of their getaway color so he fits in perfectly as a criminal. “Buddy” and “Monica” dress very fancy which indicates that they are rich. |
| 10. How does the lighting design shape our perception of character, space, or mood? | The lighting in this movie is key. Whenever there is a serious moment between hi and one of his team members the lighting in the back ground is darker and more somber and it just feels eerie. When he is with his girlfriend the lighting and the room around him is usually lighter and more vibrantly colored to show that he is happy and set the atmosphere as light hearted and happy. |
| 11. How do camera angles and camera movements shape our view of characters or spaces? What do you see cinematically? | During the action sequences or the getaway driving the camera never stays still, in every shot the camera is moving around and the closeup of the characters is usually at an angle to convey the chaos of the situation. |
| 12. What is the music’s purpose in the film? How does it direct our attention within the image? How does it shape our interpretation of the image? What stands out about the music? | The music is by far the biggest part of the movie. Music is used to convey sad feelings, happy feelings, and action. During every action scene there is a fast tempo song playing, during the scenes where he is with his girlfriend and his foster dad there is light hearted and cheerful music playing, and when there is a sad or a scene that has danger or a dark scene there is usually no music and there is a faint ringing in the background which represents his tinnitus. |
| 13. How might industrial, social, and economic factors have influenced the film? Describe how this film influences or connects to a culture? | I feel like it shows the criminal underbelly in big cities, and that is what they were going for. It connects to a culture of people who love cars and music that influences their whole lives. |
| 14. Give an example of what a film critic had to say about this filmUse credible sources and cite sourcesExample: “The Shawshank Redemption Movie Review (1994) | Roger Ebert.” All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2015. | “Much like Baby turns the world around him into music, writer/director Edgar Wright remixes the movies and tunes that have influenced him into the wildly joyous and fantastically entertaining “Baby Driver.”” – Tallerico, Brian. “Baby Driver Movie Review & Film Summary (2017): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review & Film Summary (2017) | Roger Ebert, 26 June 2017, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/baby-driver-2017. |
| 15. Select one scene no longer than 5 minutes that represents well the whole film and shows relevant cinematic elements. Explain why. | The opening getaway scene. It represents the whole movie so well because of one factor, music. Every crash, gunshot, traffic light switch, bump or significant movement in this scene is perfectly on beat with the song that Baby is listening to, it really goes to shows how this story is told through baby’s eyes, and his eyes are his ears, and the way he sees the world is through music. The scene is full of action driving, just like the rest of the movie it is fast paced, the camera in this scene is always moving, every shot it is somewhat moving, it almost never stays still. I feel like this scene capture the music and the fast pace and symbolism of the whole movie. It really tells a lot about the characters, but it does most of this with almost zero words between them. The two characters in the backseat, “Buddy” and “Monica” when they make any significant movements or they fly to the side of a car all of it is on beat with the music, but the guy in the front seat who we never learn the name of because he doesn’t come back later in the movie, his movements and actions are not on beat with the music. I believe this is because the guy in the front seat doesn’t like or trust baby, because later on after the opening scene he is kind of a jerk to baby while “Buddy” and “Monica” are nice to Baby for most of the movie, it just shows how amazing this movie is, in the first scene with no conversations between any of the characters it was able to describe how the characters act almost perfectly. |
| 16. In the selected scene: write a sentence for each of the elements below: | |
| a. Screenwriting: | Nothing was drawn out to long, and each shot was able to convey what each character was like perfectly almost without any talking between them. |
| b. Sound Design: | The sound design is fast paced, and every major movement or action in this scene is on beat with the music. |
| c. Camera Movements: | The camera is constantly moving and panning around the characters in each shot. |
| d. Light Setup: | It is very light and clear in this scene, it really conveys how this is an up tempo action scene. |
| e. Soundtrack: | The song in this scene is very fast paced and really fits the action in this scene. |
| 18. What’s the socio-cultural context of this film? | It shows that not all criminals are completely bad, there is a lot of gray area and not just completely good or bad, and some people don’t have a choice and are forced to be criminals weather they like it or not. |