Casablanca/ Bonnie and Clyde – Context Essay

Compare how far the two films you have studied reflect the times they were made.

Casablanca (Michael Kurtiz, 1942) and Bonnie And Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967) both respectively demonstrate the contexts in which they were produced in under the influence of two different Hollywood eras. The contrasting stylistic elements of these films are as a result of the movement away from ‘The Golden Age’ and the adoption of new techniques which shaped films such as Bonnie and Clyde in ‘New Hollywood’.

Casablanca is a result of the contexts in which it was produced, with the influence of the Hollywood studio system defining its outcome. The ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’, referring to the 30 year period between 1930-1960 was defined by its large constructed sets, emphasis on the stars the film had to offer and co-ordinated cinematography that all worked in cohesion with one another to serve the narrative. The studio under which it was created, Warner Brothers, had great influence over the films creation and could be seen to have its own house style which, like Casablanca, can be identified in other Warner Brothers films of the time such as Herman Shumlin’s Watch on the Rhine.

The film follows Rick and Ilsa, two lovers who parted because of the Second World War and her arrival before him some years later, happily married to a resistance fighter, Victor Laszlo. The influence of the studio is most identifiable during the opening sequence of the film. A fanfare precedes the emergence of the Warner Brothers logo in which the producers name, Jack L. Warner appears, marking the film as a prestigious production under the influence of the producer rather than the director. A-list actors from the studios stable follow on from the logo title card with lesser known actors coming after the main title card of ‘Casablanca’ as a pull factor for an audience to watch the film as it was in the studios interest to make as much profit as possible, running the film industry as a business rather than a creative form of expression. The effects of such influence results in a film created with intention as propaganda for the war effort rather than the creative vision of several people coming together.

Jack L. Warner was a firm believer in the need for American involvement in the war and a keen promoter of the ideals of President F.D.R despite being an ardent Republican himself. The characterisation of Rick in the film is an example of the studios exploration of political opinion through storytelling as his portrayal as a Hollywood hero, especially in the final scene at the airport where he lets Ilsa escape to safety and shoots the Nazi General only when threatened himself, presents his ideals of going against the Nazi regime as being heroic and encourages others to share his views. Much like films of the time such as the previously referenced Watch on the Rhine, Casablanca is a clear representation of a film produced in the contexts of the time as the studio influencing it expresses its anti-fascist viewpoint. Bonnie and Clyde would challenge these ideas by having two murderous villains as the protagonists and the Sheriff that kills them presented as the bad guy.

Typical associations of cinematography that defined the style of the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ revolved around the use of frequent establishing shots and shot reverse shot with the actors movements on screen coming from the perspective of the audience. Camera movement and large depth of field were also used to show off the films sets as a lot of money had gone into them.

When Rick is first introduced, the camera crabs from right to left to display the setting of the café with the creative decision taken to change the aperture from a deep depth of field to a shallow depth to focus on the stars and thereby glamourising them as they are items to sell. The camera tracks the movement of the cigar in his hand, tilting up to reveal Rick, centrally framed and dollying backwards to see all of him. All previous shots in the café had been filled with lots of extras whereas Rick is in isolation and the loud diegetic dialogue from characters can now only faintly be heard as the focus is fully on him. The blocking and framing of each actor is in line with the cinematography that was typically found at the time and doesn’t explore more radical filming styles such as the handheld camera shots associated with the style of ‘New Hollywood’ that director Arthur Penn used in Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie and Clyde could never have been made during the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ but after the decline of studio influence after the 1948 Paramount vs USA case, studios found themselves with reduced control over a films outcome. The case resulted in studios being unable to offload a years worth of films to a theatre, instead being forced to create films they were certain would sell. The increase in the amount of families owning a TV also made studios financially worse off as many could stay at home and watch repeats of older films. In 1950, the number of American households with TVs was at just 9% but 10 years later had skyrocketed to 87.1%. This saw a rise in independence within the industry and allowed for the stylistically unusual Bonnie and Clyde to be created.

Bonnie and Clyde follows the crime spree of a young couple in Southern America. The pair were well-known for their robberies of banks after the Great Depression hit in 1929. Penn creates empathy for the two protagonists in a film that would shame them several decades prior. Bonnie and Clyde is a product of the context in which it was produced in, with comparisons able to be made from Casablanca in the ways in which the studio influenced its production and the unique visual elements of the film drawn from the French New Wave.

In the opening sequence, the Warner Brothers logo is unaccompanied by fanfare and doesn’t have the executive producers name on it while the first title card is of Warren Beatty as opposed to a studio head, demonstrating that the studio is subservient to the artistic intent of the film. These opening credits are objective and cold in comparison to Casablanca which guides that audience in a linear way through the narration, giving the film as uninviting appearance, further showing the greater power of the artistic intent of the film over the studio.

Arthur Penn took great inspiration from the French New Wave when considering bonnie and Clyde. The style of French New Wave commonly used a lot of handheld shots, long takes and shooting on location rather than creating sets as seen in Casablanca. The ending of Bonnie and Clyde would have been particularly horrifying for audiences at the time due to the gory nature of the protagonists deaths which they wouldn’t have been used to watching. In Casablanca, the film has a positive ending despite Ilsa leaving Rick as he can walk free and the German General is killed. Also, as the pair are littered with bullets, handheld shots are used frequently as well as in other scenes which gives the film a sense of realism as camera movement appears more naturalistic in comparison to the composed movement in Casablanca. The long take shows the Sheriff come out of the bushes where they had been shooting on location in Texas where there is silence before cutting to black, giving the film a very negative ending.

One of the most striking differences in both films that reflects the time in which they were made is the difference in sexuality presented in Bonnie and Ilsa, most notably in their introductions. Bonnie’s first appearance occurs at the very beginning of the film and her sexuality is expressed explicitly through the extreme close-ups of her lips as she applies red lipstick and that she is completely naked. She is immediately established a sexual character which her flirting with Clyde contributes to. This is considered to be very sexual for modern audiences so more contemporary audiences would have perhaps found this unusual to watch because of the heightened sexualisation of her character.

Ilsa’s introduction takes place in Rick’s cafe when she arrives with Laszlo and her presentation is very different to Bonnie’s. While Bonnie desires Clyde, Ilsa is sexualised in a way that makes her desirable. Filters on the lenses when focused on her allows for her highlights to bloom and gives her a sparkle to the eye. Rembrandt lighting is used for her which creates a triangle light on the cheekbone of the actor which gives them contrast while a profile shot of concern from her as they discuss the Nazis still shows off her beauty. For Ilsa to have been sexualised in the same way that Bonnie had would have been outrageous for the time due to conceptions of the female role as a mother.

Both Bonnie and Clyde and Casablanca are a product of the respective contexts in which they were created, with the exploration of character and visual style contrasting each other as Hollywood aligns itself with ideas more redolent of the French New Wave as there was a progression from the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ towards a ‘New Hollywood’ which allowed for greater freedom in creativity and therefore resulted in experimentation of different concepts and ideas as seen with Penn when is far more able to bring his own creative vision to fruition than Kurtis some 25 years later.

Documentaries Defined

A ‘Documentary’ is defined as being “a film or television or radio programme that gives facts and information about a subject”.

Bill Nichols explains his theory that “All films are documentaries”, falling into either the category of “Wish fulfillment” (fiction films) or “Social representation” (traditional documentaries). He identifies how fiction films seek to portray something that the audience desires to see whereas a documentary film focuses on the reality of a subject matter without manipulation to appease any desires of the audience.

Whilst in a fiction film, mise-en-scene can be either real or fake, it always remains real in a documentary film, much like the characters who are otherwise played by actors in a fiction film, often using stars which gives less of a realistic depiction of the people they might be representing but has the effect of making the film more appealing for an audience. Filmmaking equipment is often more visible is documentary films, creating no illusion that fiction films create as they are already based on real events or information which is why the cameras are unseen in fiction films. In a fiction film, the filmmakers are off camera whilst adding a creative presence to the film and the dialogue is created by screenwriters to create engaging scenes. This differs from the documentary style of filmmaking where the filmmaker often appears in the film and can be the star such as in Michael Moore’s documentary films. The story also unfolds with logic rather than a set structure where dialogue is created through natural speech. One of the most striking differences between the two styles of filmmaking is the effect on the audience. Fiction films are accepted as an illusion of reality, not real and often created for entertainment purposes only rather than identifying key subjects, whereas the audience of a documentary film expects transparency and relevant information about the context of the subject.

There is a definite grey area regarding the concept of a scale that identifies whether a film is fiction or documentary. The difficulty in differentiating between fiction films and documentaries is caused by their subjective natures; “Even the most fantastical fiction film provides information about the culture that produces it, as well as the actors and any physical location used” (Nichols). Nichols also states that “Documentaries are often as exciting and dramatic as narrative films, and generally less predictable, because they draw their subject matter from real life”.

Global Film Mock Exam

The Hunger Games – Finished Film and Evaluation

The original film:

The Re-edited film with techniques included:

Feedback from my film was informative as to what i must do to improve the overall look of my films in the future. Comments such as the criticism of the tracking shot came because of it being too shaky due to the type of cameras being used, meaning that whilst it didn’t necessarily work in this film, it could work in the future with a different camera or appropriate equipment. One of the major points made was not to film against a window in the future as the door opens as it means the figure in frame becomes too dark. Another comment was the disposal of any shots that are partly out of focus. This wasn’t a major problem in our film as there were only a small few shots that were affected but this number should be minimised to none in my next project. The last improvement was not to zoom in during a shot which isn’t something that I had originally wanted to do but my project partner Sam thought that it might look good. Unfortunately it didn’t but it is something to learn from for our next film.

I believe the film was mostly successful because we were as a group able to utilise new editing techniques that we hadn’t experimented with before which meant the cinematography we used was experimentative and whilst not a complete success in some elements such as the jump cut, they have allowed a good starting point for improvement.

The Hunger Games – Filming

Filming took place in 4 different locations. We filmed I the art block, outside, school corridors and the canteen. The decision to film in the art block and canteen was made due to the criteria specifying that we had to start and finish in these locations and the decision to use the corridors was to give the appearance that my character was lost whilst the outside location was to show that Mia was calmly walking the easy way around.

We originally intended for a voice to shout “Bread! Bread in the canteen!” but unfortunately we forgot so whilst editing, I replaced this intended sound with a sound effect of an interior school bell that would provide context as to why they were running. We started off by filming in the art block where we were able to film a wide shot of myself and Mia beginning to run at the sound of the bell, using a whip pan to show the direction that the bell was coming from. A close-up shot of a peanut butter jar being placed on a cabinet was then used and several wide shots of Mia running down the stairs from three different angles whilst a wide shot of myself beginning to jump from the balcony transitioned into a whip tilt to give the illusion that I have jumped from a height. Wide shots are mainly used for the exterior as both characters walk towards the camera and then away from the camera in a quick walk.

A close-up of Aaron walking through the door then cuts to one long tracking shot that was filmed handheld. Wide shots are then used as they both move on the interior and exterior of the school. We filmed a close-up shot of Mia attempting to open the door so that we could incorporate match on action into the film and then another close-up shot of Mia’s reaction. We attempted to use a zoom where the shot would transition from a close-up shot to a medium shot and then to a wide shot. We then decided to film a close-up shot of my reaction and then of the ‘Canteen Closed’ sign on the door before returning to my scowling reaction of my eyes by using an extreme close-up shot.

The Hunger Games – Editing

Following the criteria, I used J and L cuts, parallel editing, graphic match, match on action and a hidden cut. I was unable to incorporate a jump cut or montage despite attempts.

I used a title card at the beginning so that I would be able to use a J cut as I begin to speak before cutting to the video clip. A non-diegetic school bell indicates to the audience that the two characters are beginning to run to the canteen.

When focusing on Mia, bird sounds can be heard in the background of one of the clips that show her walking calmly which I thought worked very well to contrast between the speed difference in both characters so I decided to put a bird sound effect that would continue to show this as parallel editing is being used.

A hidden cut is used to give the impression that I jump down from the balcony when in reality I begin to climb over and then we use another shot where I jump in the air and land on the ground.

Match on action is used when Mia opens the door handle and a graphic match is used when both characters walk towards the camera to show they are both heading to the same destination.

I put an end credits sequence at the end to give the film a good closing and I knew that no one else was using it and I wanted my film to have a unique element to it. This would also allow me to use an L-cut at the end as the background noise continued to the credits sequence.

The Hunger Games – Introduction and Treatment

The criteria for our ‘The Hunger Games’ film would have to be as follows: the characters will need to successfully avoid obstacles – including the rule of “no running” but only to be disappointed at the end of their journey. We were further tasked with setting the film in an art lesson initially before moving to the canteen whilst attempting to incorporate as many techniques as possible into the sequence.

Treatment

Our two main characters, Mia and Aaron speak indistinctly as they emerge from an art room, both clutching on to an open peanut butter jar in one hand and a packet of crushed crisps in the other. They both appear horrified by the food in their hands, seeming unwilling to eat the inexcusable mush contained within the packaging. Aaron, opening the peanut butter lid, proceeds to look inside at the spreads gloopy texture before saying “I can’t stand this stuff, there must be something better to eat”. “I know i just wish there was something more” Mia exclaims before the sound of a bell indicates to them both that lunch has just begun and the canteen will be opening. They both run frantically in opposite directions, Mia electing to take the stairs whilst Aaron chooses to instead jump over the balcony of the art block. Landing on his feet, Aaron pushes through the door as they both quick walk towards the main area of the school, with her heading on the outside route whilst he chooses to take the longer and more complicated route inside. The corridors are winding and disorientating. He continues to search his way through, heading one way before returning, lost and confused whereas Mia is in complete control, calmly strolling along an outside path towards a door leading to the canteen. Her happy appearance contrasts the worried and confused look of Aaron who has only just managed to find his way out of a long hallway, stumbling towards the door of the canteen. Mia, reaching for the door handle, pulls and pulls it frantically as she attempts to gain access to the canteen, only for it to be closed off, leaving her in dismay as Aaron walks past the door and approaches the canteen, confidently and nontionontly. ‘CANTEEN CLOSED’. Glaring at the sign, Aaron’s frustration becomes clear as he realises he is denied the food and must remain content with disgusting peanut butter that he had once turned his back on.

The Hunger Games – Location Scout and Storyboard

Art Block

Exterior of School

Interior of School

Canteen

Storyboard

The Hunger Games – Screenplay

Blog: Adventures in Editing

Parallel editing

This is a technique in which two or more scenes alternate between one another whilst occurring simultaneously but in different locations

J cuts

A J cut occurs when the audio of a shot precedes the following shot being presented on screen after a picture change

L cuts

An L cut is when the audio of a shot shown on screen carries over to the following shot after a pciture change

Hidden cuts

When a cut is hidden by an object or structure such as a wall that gives the illusion that an action is happening in one take rather than several

Graphic match

A graphic match is when the shape or movement of two different things in two different shots match across both scenes

Jump cut

When two shots of the same subject directly after each other change in location or the movement of the thing in shot

Match on action

Where an action of something happening occurs such as someone reaching out for something on a table that is followed by another shot from a different angle of the action taking place again

Montage

Fast paced shots that usually show the passing of time and conveys information within a short period of time

Kitchen Sink Drink – Mop-Up

I found the post-production on this project to be the most stressful I’ve ever had to work with. My plan was to add music and touch up certain shots to make them look a lot sharper; however, there were numerous factors as to why I feel that it could have gone a lot better which I will list below.

Strengths

There were several shots that I had never used or attempted before and it was good to see what it was like taking them from an idea to reality. Also I found that whilst filming I was able to think of new shot ideas such as a shot where it shows a close up of myself but in between my arm and my body my mums hand can be seen poisoning the water. This experimental shot was risky but I think it actually worked so its definitely important to consider new shot ideas for the future.

Weaknesses

The main thing that I found to be an issue was the editing software that is available on android. It meant there was a large watermark at the bottom of the screen and there was a lack of functionality, for example you are unable to add sound effects or colour grade competently so you mostly have to use the raw footage taken. Other examples of how it’s inadequate for video editing are that there is a lack of volume control, transitions and to make it even harder, you can’t turn the app landscape so cutting clips is extremely difficult. One of the clearest annoyances is the watermark that has been left at the bottom right hand corner of the film.

If I had to do this again I would change a few things: I would use final cut pro as it was impossible to edit on an app; I would be more aware of the lighting and i would minimise the amount of shots i make in order to create a smoother workflow.

Also, I would have liked to take some more time considering music choices as I don’t think they fit as well as I would have hoped. Next time i plan to make sure that i have all the necessary equipment with me to improve the appearance of the film such as my camera, lighting, tripod and editing on adobe premiere pro.

Kitchen Sink Drink – Location Scout and Floor Plan

To help me plan my shots I created a storyboard on paper.

I did a location scout as part of the pre- production process in order to work out whether my idea would fit the scale of the kitchen. I found that there was some issue with my ideas so I was forced to change some shots and there were several continuity errors which were unfortunately necessary as there was a lack of space.

Kitchen Sink Drink – Filming

Following the instructions given, i used my phone to shoot the film, using mostly static shots with a select few tracking shots at key moments. I was restricted by the capability of my phone and had to rely on my mum for certain shots who had no previous filming experience. This is one of the main reasons i used a lot of static shots but also because the kitchen is very small so certain shots couldn’t be achieved in such a confined space. My character was responsible for making the drink whilst my mum was the one drinking. I decided to use clear glasses so the poison in the liquid would be indistinguishable between both glasses. The lighting in the kitchen is unfortunately very weak in certain areas but was also often too harsh when filming.

I used a small tube so that it would fit in someones pocket and decided to use a radio to change the music from being digetic and non-digetic to give it context.

When filming, I found that there was several things that went wrong. Firstly, the already poor lighting was made worse when one of the bulbs went out mid-shoot. Also my tripod broke during filming so most shots looked shaky and unprofessional.

Kitchen Sink Drink – Screenplay

Kitchen Sink Drink – Treatment

Shona stands over the pots and pans, flustered and wearily stirring the large wooden spoon to prevent the already sorrowful looking substance from boiling over. She isn’t fazed by the sudden appearance of her son, Aaron, who makes it his business to move sharply past her, exchanging a mere glance that would to a stranger show no affection in the form of a mother to her son. He leans over to pour a drink from the silver tap and slowly turns around beginning to drink from the cup. A soft melody gently that quietly plays in the background gradually becomes more noticeable to Aaron as he drinks the last remains of the ice cold water. His eyes shift focus towards the lapping music which he has become increasingly aware of, moving forward without any urgency, he thrusts his finger down to a button on the radio, sharply halting the sound from its speakers, leaving a silent and eerie pause before Shona turns briskly towards Aaron. Steadily, she has moved from the dismal attempt at cooking to place herself where she can reach for a number of old plates and mislaid cups at her disposal. She draws her breath, exclaiming sarcastically “Oh, its nice to see you got me a drink too”, unfazed and uncaring he gives a swift effortless shrug, showing no sign of retort “And i see you turned off my music”. Aaron slowly raises his head, knowing that he must surely speak if he desires no further aggravation. Naturally, he is neither capable of being pleasant or considerate, returning her comment with an undaunted look of disgust, stating “If we have to listen to music at least make it good, d’ya know how many times iv’e had to listen to this crap?”, his tone has raised now as he begins to show his aggression. Shona, looking slightly bewildered, begins to bring up the courage to respond, doing so in a defensive manner whilst being taken back by the insult at her choice of entertainment “Well, i um, i think that…” she’s interrupted by the loud bellowing voice of Aaron who unleashes a wild barrage of fury “I don’t care what you think and why should I?”. They both stand silent, staring at one another until Aaron breaks the silence, “Alright” he conceded reluctantly, “How’s about the drink?” as his eyes appear to scowl at her. Aaron turns towards the sink quickly and begins to pour the water into the tall clear glass. Shona, taking a great stride to reach the half empty mug sitting neatly on the table, reveals a small glass vile that she had concealed in her right pocket. Oblivious and unaware, Aaron turns around to hand a full cup of ice clear water, slightly shaking and spilling a small amount of the liquid over the edge. Shona takes a large gulp of water and places it down beside her as Aaron reaches for his own drink and begins to take a small sip from the cup. Suddenly, he begins to violently choke until he is left coughing and spluttering on the ground, gasping at every opportunity for air without success. Heavy footed and looking over the cold and lifeless body of Aaron wasting away on the damp and dark floor, she paces without urgency over him, forcefully flicking the radio on to once again play a calm and soothing melody and stand with admiration, looking across to the countryside view and taking a considerable drink from her cup before setting it beside her. The room remains cold and harsh as the night closes in on them, Aaron now as lifeless as the icy moon, slowly but surely shuts his eyes in the knowledge of his imminent and unavoidable eternal sleep.

Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg, 2002)

Frank Abagnale Sr.: Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.

An FBI agent pursues Frank Abagnale Jr. who successfully managed to forge millions of dollars’ worth of checks while posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a legal prosecutor. Until one day he finds his luck runs out but in a surprise turn of events, begins work for the FBI, helping to track people down just like him.

The first time i saw the film, the main aspects that were drawn straight to my attention were both the mise-en-scene and the performance.

Performance

There are a few standouts in this film such as the laid back Tom Hanks playing Carl Hanratty, the charismatic Leonardo Di Caprio playing Frank Abagnale Jr. and the likes of Christopher Walken playing his father and Martin Sheen playing Frank’s father in law. Di Caprio is able to bring a spark to the role that other actors would struggle to find with an ability to make the audience believe that he is the character that he envelops. He also brilliantly showed us the type of man behind the crimes and what he could have done if he stayed on the right side of the law, although we would rather see the exciting chase between the two men.

Mise-en-scene

A particular scene that i wish to focus on for mise-en-scene is the scene where Frank Abagnale Jr. is almost captured by Detective Hanratty but uses his cunning and wit to escape the difficult situation. One of the most notable pieces of design is the elaborate food display that is present across the scene. There is no immediate attention brought to the display but when Frank Jr. has eluded the grasp of Hanratty, attention is drawn to the black leather wallet that is full of various food labels and suddenly everything in the scene begins to fall into place for Hanratty that he is the criminal. The comic book, large amounts of food and cheques begin to have a greater meaning for him and gives a greater understanding as to the personality of the characters evoking more feelings of sympathy and compassion.

I would in no doubt say that ‘Catch Me If You Can’ ranks highly among some of my favourite movies of all time because of its gripping and enticing nature. My only complaint would be the lethargic start to the film which fortunately is made up for in the following middle and end phases ;however, it does nonetheless give background to his life and allow us to gain sympathy towards Frank Jr because of the trauma he had in his early life.

Kitchen Sink Drink – Introduction

The task that we must complete is to plan, film, edit and upload a sequence that features two characters in a kitchen, during which a drink is offered and accepted but something is secretly added to it. We must document all the stages of production and embed the finished sequence.

Treatment- A treatment is a as a “novelized” version of your screenplay. Instead of writing in traditional screenplay format, you’re relaying the narrative as a sort of short story or novel.

An example of this would be that in your screenplay it would look like this:

Ewan stands over the body of his dead mother with her necklace in his hands, slowly looking up to the sky in the pouring rain. He’s sobbing.

Ewan

What have you done!

Whereas in a treatment it would look like this:

Ewan stands over the body of his dead mother with her necklace in his hands, slowly looking up to the sky in the pouring rain. He’s sobbing. Drawing all his strength he exclaims “What have you done!”.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Aesthetics

The most prominent part of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ that Wes Anderson utilises superbly is the inclusion of varying aspect ratios to represent the different time period that a particular scene or shot is set in.

During scenes set in the 1930s, the aspect ratio is noticeably different to a more typical modern day aspect ratio because it uses a 1.37 : 1 aspect ratio, traditional of the time. The majority of the film is shot using this aspect ratio as it is during the time period where we see a young ‘Zero’ and ‘M.Gustave’ working at the ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’.

However, scenes set during the 1960s use a 2.39 : 1 aspect ratio which creates a widescreen effect which was commonly used during this time as there was a large competition between TV and Cinema so films were made to appear larger and more expansive, giving the audience a reason to go out to the cinema rather than stay at home.

Lastly, the aspect ratio 1.85 : 1 was used to show scenes from 1985 onwards and is far more recognisable to a modern day audience as this aspect ratio is used in the majority of films dating from 1985. There are very few scenes in which this aspect ratio is present as the majority of the film is set in the 1960s recounting the story of his adventures with ‘M.Gustave’ during the 1930s. It is present at the start and at the end of the film however, with a young woman reading the book about ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ that was told to the author by ‘Zero’ during the 1960’s.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Representation

Representation is how the director presents certain ideas or stereotypes through the use of fictional characters on screen. One of the most prominent examples of this in ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ would be the difference in classes. Characters such as ‘Madame D.’ represent an upper class way of living whilst characters such as ‘Zero’ and the shoeshine boy represent people who have lost something, with the shoeshine boy it’s his leg forcing him to find an unrewarding job and with ‘Zero’ it’s his family which forces him to travel to a different country in search of work so that he might survive.

We empathise with ‘Zero’ at the beginning more than we would with any other character such as ‘M.Gustave’ because he has been forced out of his home country due to conflict and surrounded by those who are more accustomed to wealthy surroundings, creating the effect of disorientation on the audience as everything seems on a considerably larger scale to him and therefore it is shown to be much larger to us showing how he is so distant from the setting he is in.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Performance

Chapters 4 and 5, ‘M.Gustave’ 00″09:21 – 00:10:50

M.Gustave is relaxed until he hears people approaching and becomes more professional taking precise steps. The organisation of the room looks choreographed showing that he is disciplined and organised and he gives commandments louder than those he is commanding answers as he is in control.

When talking to Madame D. he puts on a happy appearance despite desperately wanting her to leave and it can be clearly seen that she is nervous for her own life but he is anxious and restless and reassures her in order to get her to leave. He becomes far more informal when speaking with guests and very out of character. Also, he cant hide his repulsion and interrupts himself to complain about her nails showing his impatient attitude.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Mise-en-scene

Chapter 5, ‘Lobby’ 00:11:33 – 00:13:32

-Matching cross key symbols foreshadow his secret hotel organisation -All staff are wearing purple and gold representing wealth -Zero has a drawn on moustache to make him look older -Zero has his hat on sideways to show his inexperience -M.Gustave has a neat moustache and hair -Crippled boy is dirty and wearing bland clothes to show his poverty -Juxtaposition of language as M.Gustave has formal pronunciation but says some very informal things -M.Gustave is wearing a morning suit and grey and white as he is a figure of authority -M.Gustave carries around a notepad to show he is always prepared -The palm court is full of palms with a fountain, lots of staff, expensive art and marble and flowers which show luxury -All staff must defer to him for advice and respect his decision -In the elevator he is the only one sat down while others have to stand up

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Editing

Chapters 28 and 29, ‘The second copy of the second will’ 01:20:47 – 01:27:09

The 4 types of editing include:

Continuity editing – Showing a sequence in order Contiguity editing – We don’t see the whole sequence of events leading up to something (e.g. someone at a bus stop then they get on a bus and then shows them at their destination) Parallel editing – Cuts from one thing to show another thing but the audience knows those things are happening at the same time Montage editing – Series of related clips set to music that conveys meaning

There is a non – digetic composed score that sets the rhythm for the the editing so that the cut happens on the beat with actions occurring in time to the soundtrack. A combination of tight shot cuts that go back to a wider shot gives more context . There is a use of contiguity editing when Agatha walks up the stairs as it shows her walking and then shows her at the top of the stairs entering the room where the safe is located. in the elevator, a glance object shot is used to show interaction with the stolen painting. Cuts from movement in one direction to a different movement to keep it interesting and changes from continuity editing to parallel editing as we understand what is happening at the same time and then later returns to continuity editing but then switches back to parallel editing when Agatha is in the lift. Wes Anderson chooses not to use shot reverse shot and instead elects to keep both characters in the frame.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Sound

Chapters 25 and 26, ‘The Remote Foothills’ 01:12:21 – 01:17:42

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ is very deliberate in the way that it effectively uses its sound. One of the main techniques used is making the item, object or action that the audience should focus on, be the most prominently heard thing in that shot or scene.

In the opening shot, the digetic sound shifts from rustling paper but after the camera pans to the left, the digetic sound of the bike becomes more prominent and then decreases after the camera pans back to the right to focus on the whiskey bottle. The object is given prominence at the moment the audience should focus on a particular object. Also, the non- digetic sound of a rhythmic brush snare drum drives the action forward and the composed score doesn’t stop until the movement stops when Zero and M. Gustave begin conversing as the score accompanies movement.

At the start of the next scene, the digetic sounds of the train whistle and clacking noise can be heard before the non – digetic narration accompanies the digetic train sounds but are played quieter in order to make the speech more prominent.

Upon cutting to a wide shot on Zero and M. Gustave, a loud bass noise signals the change in location from the previous scene and the non – digetic composed score has stopped as the score accompanies movement and all movement has stopped. However when the monk approaches (indicated by metallic sounding footsteps), warning them to escape in a cable car, the score begins once again but is different to the latter as it’s more Godly because they have been saved by the monks and are travelling to the monastery. When they reach there destination, the score becomes louder and even more Godly and as the camera pans to the window, the opening sound becomes more focused and the chanting is more dominant as they enter the interior of the church, switching from non – digetic to digetic and when in the monastery, there is a slight moment of silence showing that they are out of place.

In the confession box, sounds have an echo as they are in a confined space but the score has now stopped as it’s an important part of the plot. As the story becomes more more convoluted, the score starts again and the sound is now more sinister with an increased tempo to show the drama. Also, the drums that were once quieter and quick paced have changed to become louder and more militant as they pursue the murderer.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Cinematography

One of Wes Anderson’s most important aspects of his films is the unique style of varied shots that are used so effectively.

Chapter 21 , Checkpoint 19 Supply Depot 00:55:18 – 00:59:09

Shot 1

Symmetrical framing that draws attention to the centre of the screen and uses a frame within a frame. The taxi leaves frame and a pan to the right draws the attention to something else in the centre of the frame. The camera dolly’s in to focus and tilts downwards. Zero enters the frame when the camera comes to a rest and looks at what the audience have been looking at.

Shot 2

Symmetrically framed wide shot that’s well lit and then the light us extinguished with only neutral light. The shot is static and the light turns on to shift attention to the hole in the floor. The light us tracked with a pedestal shot.

Shot 3

Low angle close – up shot shows the prisoners feet as they descend into the tunnel. The shot pedestals to a wide shot to show their escape.

Shot 4

Close – up shot and frame within a frame from the light source.

Shot 5

A crab shot to the right reveals the dumb waiter which reveals a prisoner. The dumbwaiter is positioned on the left so he can get the keys without moving the camera. The camera crabs left and rests in its original position and the prisoners come to the foreground and exit the frame. It then crabs left and rests at the end of the ladder and remains static while the prisoners move to the right.

Shot 6

Wide out of focus shot of the prison to show the ladder move into the frame symmetrically.

Shot 7-18

Prisoners in profile as they climb down the ladder. A series of shot reverse shot with various degrees of close – up to keep it visually interesting and uses frame within a frame.

Shot 19

A wide shot of prison with a 90 pan to show where the action is taking place and characters enter frame and the doors open to reveal a room and dolly’s in to new location with a lighting change as the guard are asleep.

Shot 20

Wide shot where a silhouette tells the story.

Shot 21

Low angle wide shot with a frame within a frame.

Shot 22

Wide shot from a higher angle.

Shot 23

Frame within a frame and a well lit exterior shows the gloomy interior.

Shot 24

Low angle wide shot to show them in context.

Shot 25

Frame within a frame with a well lit exterior to show the gloomy interior.

Shot 26

A birds eye view shot showing the large drop.

Shot 27

An extreme long shot of them climbing down the ladder.

Shot 28

It shows where they are going then crabs to the right to reveal a labelled area to show where they are going.

Shot 29

Frame within a frame with direct lighting drawing the attention to something in particular.

Shot 30

Pedastols down to reveal a centrally framed hatch in the floor.

Shot 31

Worms eye view shot with a frame within a frame.

Shot 32

A birds eye view shot with a frame within a frame.

Shot 33

A worms eye view shot shows their reaction.

Shot 34

A wide shot shows what action they are going to take.

Shot 35

A worms eye view shot.

Shot 36

A birds eye view shot.

Shot 37

A worms eye view shot shows their reaction.

Blade Runner 2049 (Villeneuve, 2017)

Rick Deckard: “Sometimes to love someone, you got to be a stranger.”

Blade Runner 2049 follows ‘K’ (Ryan Gosling) a young blade runner who discovers a buried secret that leads him to track down the former missing blade runner know as ‘Rick Deckard’ (Harrison Ford).

The film was nominated for 5 Oscars and won 2, including ‘Best cinematigraphy’ for Roger Deakins and ‘Best visual effects’. It’s also shot in the traditional 2.39 : 1 aspect ratio used in a large majority of modern films.

Cinematography

When working with villeneuve, Deakins discussed at great length the right atmosphere that they wanted to create for the character ‘Wallace’, spending a lot of time looking at the way architects use light in modern structures and large concrete structures. They focused on one particular cathedral, with a big concrete block with two skylights allowing light in. They decided to create an artificial world in which lighting moves like sunlight with caustic water patterns to evoke different emotions.

02:08:56 – 02:16:44

Looking at a part of this scene, Deckard recovers after being captured by Wallace, who is keen to learn the whereabouts of a missing child.

There are 23 shots used in total with the majority consisting of wide and close- up shots.

The first shot is a close – up shot showing Deckard waking up after being unconscious, at first we are unable to see his face as it’s hidden in darkness but slowly becomes brighter, reflecting his own thoughts as he begins to understand where he is. This is also reinforced in the following establishing shot that tells the audience where he is as we look at his surroundings just as he does. This a common style as Deakins and Villeneuve want to give context to the scene. From this point on, only two types of shots are used, wide shots and close – up shots. This is a personal choice made by the director and Deakins as it shows the scene in great detail which becomes important to the plot later on when deckard notices the copy of Rachael has blue eyes when the real Rachel’s eyes were green. The use of light is perhaps the most important thing in this scene. its often used to reveal a certain character or convey a specific emotion. A close – up shot on Deckard switches to a wide shot where a faint voice can be heard but can’t be seen. Wallace then emerges from the darkness to reveal himself; a technique also used again when a close – up shot of Deckard shows him searching for someone, reacting when finding them, cutting to a wide shot panning to the left to reveal someone standing in the darkness much like we are his eyes. Wallace is always in darkness when there is a close – up shot as he is showing a lack of emotions and represents the fact that he is blind; however, the female figure has been revealed to be lurking in the darkness so she has become his eyes meaning that he is no longer in darkness in close – up shots.

Sound

01:40:48 – 01:45:21

Sound plays such a crucial part in the film as it engages the audience, especially when there are times that there is a lack of speaking to distinguish what us happening, making us rely on sound touches understand the characters emotions and actions.

In this scene, ‘K’ searches for clues to find out what happened to a child and stumbles upon Rick Deckard who has been missing for 30 years.

On the cut to the scene, there is a large bass drum sound with a very ominous sense to it as he is in a vast and destitute area with no idea what he will encounter. This drum sound repeats very infrequently and is filled with large gaps of silence in order to create tension. The digetic sound of bees can be heard which grow louder as ‘K’ walks towards the bee hives. When he looks up at the tall building, the non – digetic score can faintly be heard to keep the audience in suspense and create a sense of mystery and intrigue. Throughout this next scene, there is no non – digetic sounds present, instead only the digetic sounds of what the audience are supposed to focus on such as the door opening, the roulette table spinning and the piano playing. The digetic sound of Deckard speaking can only be heard when it’s in complete silence but he isn’t on screen but the audience knows he is there as does ‘K’ and his voice becomes louder when he is in shot as we now notice him more prominently. Also, there is a slight echo to both there voices due to being in a large empty building.

Denis villeneuve

I dont believe that villeneuve is an auteur although he is well known for his dark films that tackle issues with humanity such as ‘Sicario’ (2015) and ‘incendies’ (2010). One of his unique traits is that he will often use shallow focus to convey a sense of mystery always keeping the audience at arms length.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Anderson, 2014)

After watching ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, I am confidently able to convey my thoughts on how Wes Anderson has managed to create a cinematic masterpiece.

The film recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero, a lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

It was nominated for 9 oscars and won four, including ‘Best Achievement in production design’ and ‘Best Achievement in Music written for motion’.

Wes Anderson once again does a superfluous job in creating a film that is rich in eye catching detail and purposeful design choices that brilliant compliment the characters on screen. One significant production choice that was noticeable in the film was the use of different aspect ratios to represent the different time periods being shown. During the 1930’s, a 1.37:1 ratio was used; 1.85:1 was used in the scenes from 1985 onwards; and 2.39:1 for scenes in the 1960’s. This attention to detail is present through many different aspects of the film and is one of the main reasons the film is so absorbing.

The film is a bright and wonderfully exuberant example of Andersons skills as a director and is reinforced by the unique style of cinematography that Robert Yeoman continually brings to his projects.

Reservoir Dogs

Our production process was far smoother than what i would have expected, nonetheless there was still a few minor complications. We were given 50 minutes to film both the short cafe scene and the longer walking scene outside. Preparations contributed to roughly 10 minutes of our time which restricted a lot of the shooting time we had available. This is why i feel that we wouldn’t have had to compromise on some of the shots, specifically the side- on tracking shot. To improve next time, i believe we shouldn’t have rushed some of our shots and focused more on getting the best shot possible.

We shot the scene outside first, focusing on getting the side- on tracking shot perfected, although with the pressured time constraints, we found that we weren’t satisfied with the finished shot, causing the shoot to move location to somewhere similar. This resulted in a group of bins being present in the final shot which moderately ruined the continuity of the film, however; the shot used was much better than the original so the sacrifice was justified. The front on close- up shots were filmed individually focusing on one character at a time. This was chosen because we wanted to focus on what the character was doing and felt we wouldn’t be able to organise everyone with the limited time, feeling it was more important to show their actions.

For the cafe scene, we filmed it in one shot using a wide shot to show some detail to the setting of the scene and to show the characters movements and actions as the scene progresses. The non-digetic sound of the narrator can be heard in the background during the altercation between certain characters which then fades into a black screen as the titles begin to roll. The narrator can still be heard in the background as music begins to play and cuts to a slow motion side on shot of several members of the cast. The final take wasn’t the original take we wanted to use but we felt our first shot wasn’t high enough in quality, however; we were forced to move location due to time constraints meaning the continuity was lost but we found it wasn’t as noticeable as we first thought when editing. Our plan was to line the cast so that it matched the original reservoir dogs front on close-up shots but we found that due to limited time, it would be easier to have one character walk towards the camera one at a time, meaning that unlike the original, characters talking to each other or walking alongside side one another couldn’t be seen. Later in the edit we were able to slow character movements and replay each shot of a character with a shot of them walking one after the other to create the impression that they’re all walking together. The final shot was probably the easiest. Someone operated the camera while all the cast walked towards the traffic using a wide shot, which was later slowed down and the title ‘Reservoir Dogs’ scrolls on the screen and stops just as the backing music begins to sing ‘turn to the left’ and fading away at the end of ‘turn to the right’, creating as much fluency as possible. The shot then cuts to black and the credits continue to roll, finishing the scene.

Core Study Area: Key Elements of Film Form

The key elements of film form looks at five specific areas that affect the overall outcome of the film. The main five aspects of film that it looks at are: Cinematography, Editing, Mise-en-scène, Performance, and Sound.

Core Study Areas: Contexts Of Film

In order to understand the motives behind why a filmmaker has chosen a specific aspect of a film, there are four key areas that are focused on: Social, Cultural, Political, and Institutional.

Social factors look at the purpose that ‘City of God’ serves and key features such as why they chose to use 16mm film and to what extend is the film based on a true story?

Cultural factors look at artistic movements at the time influencing cinematography and does it follow a visual style of that particular countries filmmaking?

Political factors look at whether there was any influence from the government among other things.

Institutional looks at whether the film was cut to maintain a specific rating

The Hateful Eight (Tarantino, 2015)

A Close- up shot used to show the first appearance of Warren (Samuel L. Jackson)

The Hateful Eight is the story of a bounty hunter and his prisoner, who attempt to reach a small town in the dead of winter and take refuge in a cabin that holds a group of highly elusive people as they seek shelter from a harsh blizzard, leaving them trapped for two days. It was gifted one Oscar for the ‘Best original score’ for Ennio Morricone who created a brilliantly unique western theme.

A wide shot used to show how the characters arrived at the main film location and how the setting has changed

One of my favourite shots used throughout the film is the effective use of the wide shot. The reason that its so effective is because it shows how the character is small in relation to their surroundings, presenting either the power of the blizzard that rips up ground in the wind or how the characters distance themselves from one another as there is a lack of trust in their company. The decision could have been made to use a medium shot on several occasions, but i think that a medium shot draws the audiences attention to the detail too much which is the opposite of what Tarantino is trying to do, he’s saying that you don’t need to look at a character close- up to determine their motives which gives the film far more suspense and a greater climax.

‘The Hangman’ converses with Daisy

One technique that is most notable is the use of shot reverse shot, seen most prominently between ‘The hangman’ and Daisy, as when they converse, the audience is drawn to the suspicion of one and the cunning of the other, implying that they aren’t just attached by cuffs, but also that if one suffers, then the other shall receive the same treatment.

An effective use of the wide shot, giving two camera angles to the same scene, one earlier on in the film facing away from the door from the perspective of ‘The Hangman’, and one from the perspective of the gang facing towards the door

A trait that is usually found in Tarantino’s films (because it work so well) is how we see the story take place in chronological order up until we reach the climax of a characters story arc or important part of the story. The reason this is done is to build suspense and revelation when we discover what has occurred and how every thing fits together in time. This is present in the movie when at the height of the action, the movie cuts back to before the opening scene of the movie to discover that four passengers are present in the haberdashery, all intent on free Daisy. It shows how they arrived and what happened prior to the arrival of the stagecoach, stopping just as we see ‘The Hangman’ enter which is what the audience saw before only now it’s done from the perspective of someone else. Another movie Tarantino does this in is ‘Pulp Fiction’ where there are seperate parts different stories mixed up and the audience doesn’t begin to figure out what and when something happened right up until the very end.

An example of a chapter that segregates a scene

Something that I especially loved when watching this film is the use of shots showing the chapters of the movie, in order to show the progression of the movie. It’s very uncommon and reads more like a book rather than a film when using this technique but I think that’s why it works. We are able to grasp a better understanding if what is about to take place, and yet, we have absolutely no idea what course the film could take because of the brilliance of Tarantino’s directing.

Quentin Tarantino

Auteur or not? Definitely yes! his movies are instantly recognisable and can be traced back to him easily because of his unique directing style. One of the first things to be noticed when watching one of his films is constant use of very violent settings and character. This can be seen in films such as ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Reservoir dogs’, and is no different in this film, especially this film. He uses this violence not to take frustration out on screen, but to give motive for a character, normally that motive comes in the form of revenge such as Django in ‘Django Unchained’ who lashes those who one held him as a slave, giving the character a purpose. Another one of his most prominent aspects is his use of long and intense dialogue scenes that gradually build up suspense over time, drawing out the eventual realisation that we are led, creating a shocking conclusion that the audience gets as they learn the truth, just as the characters in the film respond to it in a similar manner also. Lastly, something i believe to be one of his strongest traits in film making is how he intertwines different stories together from different perspectives and present them all as the film progresses to give a better understanding of what is occurring. For example, in the film ‘Pulp Fiction’, we see characters such as Vincent and Jules who share the same story but go off in separate directions that eventually results in them meeting with someone else from another story line, until it all comes together at the end, when the audience begins to understand the timeline of the film and when certain parts took place.

The two men drift away as they have succeeded in killing all members of the gang, only to lose their own lives as they slowly bleed out

Possibly one of my favourite shots in the entire film is the very final shot of the film. This is because the camera slowly pans up as they read a patriotic letter addressed from Abraham Lincoln. The reason it has so much meaning is because the letter highlights all the brave and heroic work Warren has achieved, whilst drawing our attention to Domergue, hanged by both men in an effort to reclaim some salvation before they die. It highlights how in such a gruesome film, these two characters are able to find peace, conflicting the emotions of the audience as to whether we feel sorrowful about their fates or whether we view the ending of the film as inevitable, as it cant be possible for such wicked men to live, this us what makes the fil so brilliant, there are bad guys and there are worse guys, and yet, we still feel mournful.

Knock – Knock (2)

After our first short film attempt, we were set the task of repeating it with a few changes. Instead of just entering a room and telling the joke, we now had to show the two characters departing this time, along with the fact that we now had a new group to work alongside with. We were given storyboards as an aid for planning, but found we weren’t as dependent on it as we had been previously, whilst still shooting the film, sound recording, and responsible for editing.

My partner was Daisy Samra, who was responsible for sound recording the film, except for the final shot, where Daisy took on the role of the cinematographer and i worked on sound recording. The plan this time was to do something far more simplistic than last time, in order to get the best looking shoot possible that didn’t contain any major complications, but managed to meet the revised success criteria that we take into account the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot, and match on action, which was all completed successfully. I filmed in the light and decided to show more than just the room that we were filming in so that the audience have a better sense of the surrounding, this was shown when one character opened the door on the outside and then switched to a shot on the inside of the room. Also, my match on action shot was filmed with two varying shots, the first was a close – up shot that was chosen to clearly show what the action was, and the second was a wide shot, chosen to show the new location that the character had just entered.

The shooting process was seamless and worked extremely effectively. I found that my knowledge of how to use the camera has improved dramatically, from simply changing the camera modes, to being able to focus the shot. There were however still a few challenges that I felt were difficult to overcome. For example, I still need to work on my skills with setting up the equipment, as while I know how to shoot the video, my skills in getting the sound and camera ready needs some work. Also, I found that when editing, I was still unfamiliar with many of the tools which increased the time taken, although, I could definitely notice that I had improved.

During this project, I learnt how to use the sound recording device as I had never used it before because I was working with the camera so it was completely new to me. One thing that I would do differently next time is to try and explore a range of new shots to use in order to enhance my abilities and give a more pleasant viewing experience.

One aim that I have set myself Is to learn more about the camera and hot to focus the shot more effectively.

Shot / Reverse shot

Shot reverse shot is a useful technique which can be used in scenes such as conversations. One character is shown to be looking at another character off-screen, and then the other character is shown to be looking at the other character once again off-screen, creating the impression that they are speaking to one another.

Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese, 2013)

Knock – Knock

During class, we were set the task of creating a short film based an around a character entering a room and telling a knock knock joke, then departing. This had to be filmed twice in each group in 50 minutes to be edited later on. We were responsible for planning through the use of a storyboard, shooting the film, recording it and then editing it.

I was partnered with Andrew Elton for our film and the idea was to use the joke out of The Office US as all other jokes we saw were hopelessly unfunny. I decided I wanted to put my own twist on it. In the show it’s used in a very light hearted tone in one continuous medium shot so my ideas was to make the atmosphere seem more intense whilst still maintaining part of the humorous tone despite the thrill factor. The joke I decided to go with went as follows.

Midway through planning i decided to change the setting of the film and change the storyboard to show it changing from two students bumping into each other in a corridor to an interrogation type scene.

The shooting process was extremely stressful and looking back there are many aspects I would have liked to change. One major challenge i found was that my inexperience with the equipment meant that the already tight time constraints were restricted even more as i had to get an understanding for certain camera controls and how to correctly setup the sound recording. Another difficulty was that the script was written very quickly on demand meaning it wasn’t as fluent as I would have liked it to be and the actors, Daisy and Jay weren’t prepared enough to give the compelling performance that might have been capable with more time.

There are some clear things that I have learnt not to do in the future when filmmaking and what I could have done to improve it due to the work on this project. The decision to film in the dark is an effect I have seen utilised many times and whilst the concept of the idea seemed effective, the application of it was less so because the camera equipment was not up to a high enough standard to shoot in the dark without there being glare present on the screen and out of focus. Another problem came with my partner who through no fault of his own, lacked experience when controlling the sound recorder so the recording were often corrupted, not stopped or not filmed at all which meant when it came to editing, some words were missing and had to be used on the cameras sound rather than the microphone.

Prior to filming, we had a lack of knowledge about certain shot types and the 180 degree rule which meant could have looked better, that is if it could be seen at all!

Reverse shot used in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, Scorsese)

I chose to use an over the shoulder reverse shot when filming the conversation between the two characters which may not have been clear in the dark, but I know that if it was filmed in a better location and setting, the shot would have greatly improved the look of the film. Also, the editing was a great challenge to me as I have often edited different films on my phone with much less sophisticated software, so moving to Final Cut Pro meant I had to learn everything from scratch which took up a lot of editing time. I havent fully been able to understand the full capability of the software yet which is why I am making it one of my main aims to learn if in my own time to create better films.

After I had completed editing the short film with the limited amount of sound files, I uploaded it to YouTube:

The Art of Shots

A shot is a series frames which are recorded continuously from when the camera starts rolling and when it is cut, completely unedited.

These shots are what make films so entertaining and can be used to show a characters emotion or an important part of a plot or story arc unfolding before our eyes.

An extreme wide shot from Django Unchained (2012,Tarantino)

Some of the first examples of shots being used in the early 20th century was when a camera would be stabilised by a tripod and would only capture motion within the frame such as a party which was interesting at the start but filmmakers began to realise they could tell a more engaging story by piecing together various shot sizes.

There are numerous types of shots, with the most common types including:

Wide/ Long shot – The characters can fully be seen in relation to the location or each other and can be used to show how the character is small in relation to their surroundings or if there is no character it can just be used as an establishing shot. It can also be used to show a new location so when the camera moves in tighter the audience knows where they are.

Wide shot from Django Unchained (2012, Tarantino)

Full shot – The character is fully in the frame but the location isn’t the focus and its purpose is to show how a character dresses, how they move or what action they are doing

Full shot from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966, Leone)

Medium shot – Shows the character from the waist up in greater detail and are often used in dialog scenes and focuses on body language

Medium shot from Titanic (1997, Cameron)

Medium close-up shot – between the close-up and medium shot that frames the character from the shoulders up and might be used to show more body language and emotion. Might possibly be used to build up to to a climax that reveals information but no as intimate as a close-up.

Medium close-up shot from Inception (2010, Nolan)

Close-up shot – Shows the characters face in greater detail showing their emotion by facial expressions that you might miss in a medium shot. Can be used to show specific small actions such as putting a ring on a finger but used infrequently with great importance to the audience.

A close-up shot from The Shining (1980 ,Kubrick)

Extreme close-up shot – Puts the frame even tighter on the face highlighting specific features. Its uncomfortably close so the audience can feel what what the actor is conveying and is why it is used to show intense emotion when the drama begins to increase.

An extreme close-up shot from Requieum for a Dream (2000, Aronofsky)

Establishing shot – It tells the viewer where the story is taking place and can include things such as a building or a traffic jam. The shots can be tighter to show more specific locations such as an office in that building. Its important to use this to reveal relevant information so as not to confuse the viewer.

Establishing shot from Skyfall (2012, Mendes)

Extreme wide shot – Shows large landscapes in the frame giving the audience a feel for period and setting of the film. Characters are very small in context to the backdrop which is the purpose of the shot.

Match On Action

An editing technique that improves continuity where one shot cuts to another shot, showing an action of the subject in the first shot crating the impression that there is continuity which takes the attention away from any other continuity issues. It shows the same action being continued in 2 seperate shots.

Scream (1996, Craven)

The 180º Rule

It refers to an imaginary straight line that you draw between two subjects in a scene where you keep all cameras behind that line. This will often mean that there are three cameras, one that films a wide shot and the others film a close-up shot on 2 characters conversing.

An example of the 180º rule and how it can be used incorrectly

A Brief History of Film

Photography was invented during the mid – 1800’s and at its heart, its a way of catching light through the use of chemicals and it became commonplace very quickly. This meant that many people were looking to improve on it by being able to capture movement. They knew that if you could display moving pictures quickly, it could fool the human eye into think that it was moving, proved by stories such as two gentlemen betting over whether at any point the horse would have all four feet off the ground and tested this by setting up 12 cameras and triggering them to take a photo when the horse passed which proved this concept and made it look real.

Eventually in 1895, the technology was was produced that made it easier to capture photos quickly and brought about the film process, where a long roll of photosensitive material could take pictures and display through the use of a bright light to create the effect that the images were moving. At the very start, it tended to be very boring films such as a moving train but it was the advancement in technology that was so important.

Theatres were one of the most popular forms of entertainment in that period of time know as ‘Vaudevelles’ and were affordable for everyone but when films were starting to be produced, they overtook it in popularity and these theatres were turned into the first cinemas which meant watching films was still affordable as they only had to repurpose the theatres and film went from being nowhere to everywhere in a matter of years worldwide and at this point in time, there was a lack of sound so there were no language barriers meaning it was accessible to everyone.

Certain early influential figures were inspired by the Lumière Brothers, who were able to capture some of the very first films including a film of a train arriving at a station and devised an early motion-picture camera and projector called the cinématographe. George Méliès was invited to the premiere of their train station film in 1861 and was immediately amazed by what he saw and decided he wanted to buy their cinématographe, but after being refused, he started work on making a camera of his own which was completed in 1896, so he stated to make films. Whilst filming one day, his camera jammed, allowing him to discover that if you stop the film and then start it again in the same place, it would appear that certain objects and people had moved very quickly, creating one of the first special effects. Later on, he would also develop the technology to do split screen where he could duplicate himself several times in the same frame. Méliès was a revolutionary filmmaker, who advanced the filming world greatly in the period that he worked in, with one of his most famous contributions being his film ‘A Trip to the Moon’ in 1902, which used. 825ft of film which was a massive amount at the time and gave the filmmaker 15 minutes to entertain their audience.

It was very easy to record sound, but what made sound impossible for films was that films weren’t smooth, so audio couldn’t time properly with the picture. Throughout 1910 – 1915, films improved from 8fps to 12fps but by 1918, they were filmed at 24fps which is enough to fool the human eye into thinking the film is running smoothly, and has been used ever since. There were attempts to add colour to the film, however; the method of painting each individual frame would take far too much time and couldn’t be done across hundreds of films. One major drawback of film was that they were very expensive to produce so films would only have a limited number of copies meaning people could wait many years after release to see a film. Sound in film was eventually solved in 1927, by waves on the film that were played back 20 frames behind the picture but the film was given slack to keep it smooth.

The Wizard of Oz (1939, Fleming) was one of the first big budget films to have colour although it seemed more unnatural and wasn’t until the 1960’s before colour became more prominent and choices such as aspect ratio changed. The Academy Ratio was 1.33:1 which was the obvious square space but has changed many times such as in the 1950’s when either 1.66:1 or 1.85:1 was used and in modern days when it is more common to find widescreen experience at 2.35:1 making the size of the screen expand dramatically over the course of the past 60-70 years. Also, the first 3D films were introduced in the 1950’s in order to attract a bigger audience and then attempted again in the 1980’s but instead wearing glasses which was a real drawback and were never very effective so many films remain in 2D.

The biggest threat towards cinema was the television. This was because people wouldn’t want to travel to the cinema if the could see it in their own homes which meant industries such as Hollywood had to take action. In order to save film, they spent far more on films with more extravagant costumes and sets. Also, they made the screen bigger, either but cutting the top and bottom off the picture and expanding the screen or by shooting the film with an anamorphic lens which would make it appear small, but when projected onto the screen, they would use a bigger lens to increase the size of the picture so that people would remain interested. In the early 1970’s, videotape technology became available which was revolutionary as you could record something, then watch it whenever you wanted. This meant video rental became a rising threat as you could see a film cheaper than the cinema and less than a year after it came out.

One of the most recent threats to cinema are streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, that produce original content and are heavily investing into these original films for the future. This is especially apparent with Netflix, who are one of the main streaming services and have the rights to many films which is why other new streaming services are beginning because they have seen its success which has meant Netflix has had to produce more original content as studios are pulling films from Netflix for their own streaming service. The chances of these services running in the long term are very unlikely as its very unfriendly to the customers, who dont want to pay for multiple services.

Inception (Nolan, 2010)

Inception follows the work of a thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream sharing technology who is given the task of planting an idea into the mind of a powerful C.E.O starring the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and Ellen Page.

Inception has won 152 awards including 4 prestigious Oscar’s in a range of categories. ‘Best Achievement in Cinematography’ for Wally Pfister, ‘Best Achievement in Sound Mixing’ for Hirschberg, Rizzo, and Novick. ‘Best Achievement in Sound Editing’ for Richard King and ‘Best Achievement in Visual Effects’ for Corbould, Lockley, Bebb and Franklin.

Christopher Nolan

Nolan is one of the most recognisable auteurs of the 21st century, with a unique style that many instantly accosiate with him. He is known for his mainly dark and fantasy themes and non-linear storytelling type where he has multiple threads all at once. This is still apparent in this film but not as prominently as some of his others such as Memento (Nolan, 2000).

Reality – Memory and Tradgedy

Inception deals with the idea of dreams and how we feel safer when we are in our own dreams. It asks us how different the real world is from the one we make for ourselves and whether it’s right to spend so much time dreaming about what could be than living about what is. This is present in the fim through the character Cobb, he struggles to cope with the stress of losing his wife and Nolan cuts the ending of the film seconds before we learn if he is still dreaming because he is in a better place for himself.

Cinematography

The cinematography in this film put simply is mesmerising, this incorporated with insanely epic special effects brings together such an immersive feeling and keeps you transfixed from beginning to end. One of the most simple examples is the spinning top, that something so small can be so significant and the way this is captured by Pfister does so well at catching your attention.

Cobb: What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed – fully understood – that sticks; right in there somewhere.

I think this quote is so important as it points out the fact that what the world and people see, is very different from the actual reality and once we learn this, we never lose it.

Acting

One of Nolan’s many noticeable traits is that he will often re-use certain actors on many of his films, and you can see why. He has used the likes of Tom Hardy (Dark Knight Rises, 2012/Dunkirk, 2017) and Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, 2006/ Dunkirk, 2017) because of their versatile acting skills. Hardy (Earnes) has the ability to tell stories with just the use of his facial features and Nolan has mentioned his reason for picking him for some roles because of what ge can do with his eyes alone. Murphy (Fischer) is described to be the perfect villain because of his “seductive” and “sinister” acting methods by ‘The New York Times’ so makes the ideal choice for this anti-hero. It’s also no suprise Nolan went with Leonardo DiCaprio, one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood who is one of the most talented and diverse actors if the 21st century and shows it in ‘Inception’ with heart-throbbing scenes and a range of emitional abilities.

Cold War (Pawlikowski, 2018)

Cold War is a passionate love story between two very different people who come from very different backgrounds and follows their story across some of the most troubled times of the 20th century, venturing through locations such as Poland And France to share music for the entertainment of others whilst two lovers attempt an impossible relationship, in an unforgiving period of time.    

It has proudly won 35 awards whilst also being nominated for 3 Oscars including ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, ‘Best Achievement in Directing’ for Pawlikowski and ‘Best Achievement in Cinematography’ for Lukasz Zal.

Pawel Pawlikowski

Pawlikowski is best known for his work as a director on films such as ‘Ida’ in 2013 and early works including ‘My Summer of Love’ in 2004.

Insatiability- Depression and Discontent

In my opinion, the film shows the attitude of many about the state of affairs that people had to deal with during the Cold War. Some felt that they were restricted from doing what they love and reflects in this film in the form of an unlikely couple who try to find love during hard times. Like Zula and Wiktor, many were disheartened by a lack of freedom and the theme of ‘Insatiability’ is present here as they go looking for something that neither of them are able to find. This is reflected greatly in the final scene of the film. After escaping the labour camp and going to get married in secret, they are unable to escape the fact that they aren’t satisfied with their lives and find their only source of happiness when they are together, this leads to their eventual downfall as they die together overlooking the shimmering tall grass in the field and deliver the final line which leaves the audience realising why they did it. “Let’s go to the other side, the view will be better there” – Zula. Personally I believe this can be interpreted two ways, one way is the conclusion that they were so unsatisfied in life that the only happiness they could find is in the next world after death. Also, another way that I interpreted it when watching was that it could reference much of the thoughts of many who lived in the West during this period of time and they felt that the lives they once had were no more and couldn’t find peace in knowing that and instead chose to die in each others arms.

Cinematography

The lead cinematographer, Lukasz Zal, made the decision of having the film shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than the more typical modern day cinemascope such as the more usual 16:9 in order to give the impression that the film was shot during the time that it was set, as films would have been shot using this aspect ratio. This format engages the audience more as they are capable of looking at the setting in greater detail. This decision was also the reason as to why the film was shot in black and white to give the film a far more aged appearance. Interestingly, the film doesn’t follow the rule of three, used to give greater focus on a character and what there actions are or what they are looking at, the reasoning behind this, I would think, is that it shows how cut off some individuals feel from society and how many blindly followed laws set out before them, not question whether they were right or wrong.

“Now I’m yours. For ever and ever”

Zula – ‘Cold War’ , 2018

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (kershner, 1980)

When we were young, we could all watch a film and aspire to be just like a character we saw, whether that’s wanting to explore abandoned temples just like Indiana Jones or race across time just like Marty McFly in Back to the Future (Zemeckis, 1985). For many though including myself, after seeing Star Wars, our inner child wanted nothing more than to fly in the stars and discover new planets. I think that although all films in the trilogy are superb and many would argue that the first is the best, I would have to say that Episode V is superior in my opinion for numerous reasons.           

        

After seeing a vision from Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker must travel to the Dagobah system whilst his friends travel to Bespin where they are met by Imperials and captured. it is up to Luke to go save them which leads to an epic showdown between himself and Darth Vader. The film takes on many challenges of filmmaking in the time that it came out with a great array of practical effects that cleverly depict gargantuan monsters on the screen whilst being mere inches in real life. A New Hope was so loved because it established the setting of this universe and developed characters that were instantly admired, and Empire Strikes Back is able to continue this whilst delivering new locations such as the harsh ice planet of Hoth and the swampy wilderness of Dagobah, as well as having a strong first and middle act that leads to a fantastic end battle that can never be forgotten because of the intrigue that It leaves behind and the jaw dropping twist in the climax that leaves you wanting more.

George Lucas

Although he didnt direct this film, he did have the majority of the say on film choices so I have chosen to ignore Kershner as he isnt an auteur and focus on Lucas. It’s hard to tell whether Lucas is an auteur as he hasn’t directed many films and those that he has have mainly come from the Sam franchise. I would be inclined to argue that he is an auteur due to the fact that he deals with ideas such as growing up and leaving home in order to pursue what they want, which is present in his films such as American Graffiti(Lucas, 1973) and of course Star Wats: A New Hope (Lucas, 1977)

Suspense – Temptation and Deterrence

One of the main themes relates to the idea that characters are continually being drawn to temptation whilst others work to make them see the light. This coincides with suspense as its unclear to the audience what course of action someone might take and this becomes most apparent in the final showdown between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, Good and Evil. Most if not all know about the surprising revelation near to the end of the film and has become notoriously quotable, but when you first saw the film, the prospect that this was a possible outcome seemed to be impossible which is what makes it all the more brilliant. It shows that good and evil are never truly 100% that, they have aspects of both in them whether they realise it or not, but until two opposites collide and come to this conclusion themselves, both seek to sway the other, for reasons they may not fullest understand themselves.

Reel Life

When I was 8, I had my very first experience of cinema when I went to watch Captain America: The First Avenger (Joe Johnston, 2011). Previously, I had always watched films at home on a very small 19 inch TV in the distance, making viewing experiences, whilst still enjoyable, completely different to how I first saw this movie. I remember being astonished by the size of the screen before the film had even started, and when it did, a feeling of captivation seemed to flow through me as the pure booming sound and brightness of what I was witnessing, transported me into another world, one that I would never be the same again. I felt every action, every silent whisper, although someone was breathing down the back of my neck, it’s a feeling that I can describe as being something that changed my view of film forever.

I believe that it was back in 2010 when I was fortunate enough to watch the masterpiece that is Lord of the Rings : Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003) for the very first time. The final film in the trilogy, it allowed for superb character development and masterful shots that engaged with the audience on a vast amount of levels and is one of the main reasons for my love of film. From my experience, many truly brilliant films that are so emotive have the capability to inflict strong feelings such as sorrow and joy especially upon first watching them, but in my opinion, I think that Return of the King triumphs over all others in terms of characters and how the story beautifully coincides with the score composed by Howard Shore.

The characters are developed perfectly across the course of the three movies and their arcs are wrapped up with such precision in the movie as can be seen if we take the character of Frodo for example. When we first meet him in the Fellowship of the Ring, he is a bright and joyful individual, who becomes conflicted after having been given the ring, which continues across the course of all three movies until the final film. Even after succeeding in his quest, he still lacks the same persona that he had once before, and refuses to smile even after the film is drawing to a close as he is still holding on to the heavy toll of he ring when everyone is celebrating the victory, its only when he leaves on the boat later on that he smiles, perfectly ending his character arc and ending an exception story. Also, as stated before, the score for Lord of the Rings brings out so much conflicting emotion whether the story makes us feel pity for a character or sadness when we watch someone leave, it demands that the audience become engrossed with what they are viewing and I know that it would always remain one of the most heart-breaking and beautiful stories told on the screen.

Over the course of the past decade, I have watched a great variety of different films from comedy to fantasy, horror to sci-fi, but one particular film comes to mind when I think of the weird and wonderful. Locke (Steven Knight, 2013) I believe to be such a unique film in the way that it takes place in one location, looking on Tom Hardy’s character, Ivan, and his struggle across the course of the film inside a car as he fights with those he loves and his own conscience.

Hardy’s performance keeps you fixed on what’s occurring in a film that shouldn’t work, but thanks to the brilliance of editing, directing and stellar acting by Hardy, you cant help but take your eyes away. The film was shot over the course of a few nights with several different camera angles in the car and only a minimal amount showing the exterior in order to affect the audience on how he is feeling as he is stuck in a very claustrophobic environment both physically and mentally. As this was filmed over a few nights, there was a directing choice made that meant a scene would only be shot once and be used on most scenes, giving the solo performance of Hardy an even more realistic appearance. One of the main things that I admire about this film is the writing. To have a film that is set in one location it requires a script that gives a compelling plot with interesting characters and a sense of intrigue throughout as the audience doesn’t know where he is going and what is causing him such stress until the climax of the movie.

Auteur Or Not?

An auteur is a film director who has such a strong signature on a film that you are able to know it is one of their films without seeing their name on it.

The director that I have been given is Guillermo Del Toro, a Mexican filmmaker, famous for his many works such as Pacific Rim (Del Toro, 2013) , The Shape of Water (Del Toro, 2017) , and Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, 2006) , many of which are Oscar winners. I have seen many of his films including the ones above and can note that he is definitely an auteur. His signature is that his films typically deal with the supernatural and the film focuses on the main character who ignore clear warnings and this leads to bad consequences, implying the statement that it is the humans that are the monsters.

Much of his filmography includes visual representation for ideas such as his use of snowfall when there is a gateway and is often to show that it is supernatural. Another is that clockwork represents the unhindered work of time and evil and can be seen put to effect in many of his films.

A Gathering Storm

The structure of my course goes as follows. I will be assessed by two external exams both worth 35% and a piece of coursework worth 30%. These exams will both be 2 hours 30 minutes long and i will be assessed on different parts of my knowledge. Component 1 looks at Hollywood 1930-90 and will be a comparative study, looking at films such as Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) and Blade Runner (Scott, 1982). In section B we will look at American film since 2005 such as La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) and Boyhood (Linklater, 2015). Finally, in section C, we take a look at British film since 1995 such as Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004) and Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996).

The structure of my course goes as follows, i will be assessed by two external exams both worth 35% and a piece of coursework worth 30%. These exams will both be 2 hours 30 minutes long and i will be assessed on different parts of my knowledge. Component 1 looks at Hollywood 1930-90 and will be a comparative study, looking at films such as Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) and Blade Runner (Scott, 1982). In section B we will look at American film since 2005 such as La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) and Boyhood (Linklater, 2015). Finally, in section C, we take a look at British film since 1995 such as Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004) and Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996).

Component 2 will comprise of 4 sections, the first being about Global film including Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, Spain, 2006) and City of God (Mereilles, Brazil, 2002). Section B will be about Documentary film such as The Arbor (Barnard, UK, 2010). We then take a look at film movements and begin with silent cinema and look at films such as Spies (Lang, Germany, 1928). Our final section will be Experimental film where we look at films such as Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, US, 1994).

Component 2 will comprise of 4 sections, the first being about Global film including Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, Spain, 2006) and City of God (Mereilles, Brazil, 2002). Section B will be about Documentary film such as The Arbor (Barnard, UK, 2010). We then take a look at film movements and begin with silent cinema and look at films such as Spies (Lang, Germany, 1928). Our final section will be Experimental film where we look at films such as Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, US, 1994).

The coursework that we do will involve creating a 5 minute short film, this will involve us organising costumes and set locations whilst writing a script and shooting the film.

Hello World!

Hello there, my name is Aaron Bruce and welcome to my blog! This blog comprises of all my work in A Level Film Studies and will contain notes about my work and be a place to share my opinions on different aspects of old and new pieces of cinema that I have viewed.

Star Wars (Lucas, 1977)