AS Film Studies has come to a finish! I've really enjoyed the first year. I feel the exam went really well, I cannot watch any form of media without analysing it.
I am happy we created something completely different from my piece for Media. I felt the whole experience was good for me, as I have never been the actress for a film before. I definately prefer being behind the camera, but I am happy with our final piece.
I cannot wait for next year.
I have enjoyed looking at American and British films, but World Cinema is where my passion lays.
This blog is now closed.
Thursday 23 April 2009
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Reflective Analysis
For this piece of coursework I worked in a group with three of my colleagues: George, Jake and Callum. Our initial idea was to make a piece of film exploring OCD. The obsessive theme intrigued us; we wanted to create something obscure. Once we established this concept, we studied the subject OCD. On the internet Jake found several articles on other people’s compulsions and weird behaviour. I also thought it would be a good idea to look at how the media interprets OCD. I found a two minute clip from Grey’s Anatomy portraying a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder. It was a slightly over exaggerated portrayal. The media tend to exaggerate everything; I did not want to make an over the top piece of film about someone with OCD.
After much discussion, the OCD concept then developed into this idea of focusing on me and my sketchbook. Once we had this idea, we discussed our film inspirations. Callum mentioned the film Requiem for a Dream and the notion of repetition was brought up. We agreed this would be an excellent way of paying homage to the film. I also thought it would do well in depicting the mindset of the character we wish to portray.The next thing we needed was a title for the film. At this stage we lacked creativity, and were just looking for a temporary title. Again, said in jest someone suggested the title Work Tara Work. Although it sounded like a cheap parody of the German film Run Lola Run, we actually quite liked it.
We were then told to take on a role. Of course, I was going to take on a role of performer. As we did not use much dialogue, I improvised on certain things such as: body language and positioning. I found this part of the production really interesting. We all got along, and we used everyone’s ideas and contributions. Callum took on the role of the editor; Jake directed the film and George worked as the assistant cameraman. We filmed over the course of two days.
For both of those days Jake and I were there. Together the three of us planned and set up the mise-en-scene. We filmed most of the establishing shots on the first day for continuity reasons. This way we would only have to get close-ups and less important shots the following day. The filming took place in an art room. I thought this would be the ideal place to film. It was a messy art room. I thought this was a good idea, and showed connotations of frantic behaviour. Jake placed magazines all over the tables, and threw pencils everywhere. The guillotine was placed at the end of the table and was angled slightly to the left. It was looking brilliant. To complete the setting my sketchbook was placed directly in front of my chair: portraying myself as untidy yet hard-working. Several tracking shots took place that day. We did many panning shots from several different angles. I really like establishing shots, they are important as they show the audience my surroundings. They get a chance to see my working environment and this helps build up an impression of the character. During the filming process, on both days we used a broadcast camera. The camera remained on the tripod for most of the filming. I, myself am not a fan of hand-held camera work. Whilst Jake was filming, he suggested we at least try it. Jake managed to get some good footage hand-held. When shooting point of view shots, the camera was not on the tripod.
On the second day it was George, Jake and I. This is where the close-ups took place. When one was filming,
I directed the other to photograph the filming process. This time round, everything was done handheld allowing the camera to get as close as possible. I usually detest close-ups, but as the focus was on other body parts such as my hand and mouth I didn’t mind as much. To pay homage to Requiem we filmed a series of extreme close-ups such as: masking tape being pulled out from the roll, tip of pencil lead snapping. We recorded these things over and over again. So we had more than enough footage and got used them more than once and in different places. When filming the close-ups, we also captured sound. Sound is a very important part of our short film. To create tension, in post-production we planned to over exaggerate the noises. When it came to editing we had over seventeen minutes of footage. Once we established the opening sequence and the narrative structure it was fairly straight forward from there.
The editing process was a long, overwhelming yet rewarding journey. When working in a group, there is always going to be disagreements. After many disagreements, we managed to put all our sequences together and create Work Tara Work.
After much discussion, the OCD concept then developed into this idea of focusing on me and my sketchbook. Once we had this idea, we discussed our film inspirations. Callum mentioned the film Requiem for a Dream and the notion of repetition was brought up. We agreed this would be an excellent way of paying homage to the film. I also thought it would do well in depicting the mindset of the character we wish to portray.The next thing we needed was a title for the film. At this stage we lacked creativity, and were just looking for a temporary title. Again, said in jest someone suggested the title Work Tara Work. Although it sounded like a cheap parody of the German film Run Lola Run, we actually quite liked it.
We were then told to take on a role. Of course, I was going to take on a role of performer. As we did not use much dialogue, I improvised on certain things such as: body language and positioning. I found this part of the production really interesting. We all got along, and we used everyone’s ideas and contributions. Callum took on the role of the editor; Jake directed the film and George worked as the assistant cameraman. We filmed over the course of two days.
For both of those days Jake and I were there. Together the three of us planned and set up the mise-en-scene. We filmed most of the establishing shots on the first day for continuity reasons. This way we would only have to get close-ups and less important shots the following day. The filming took place in an art room. I thought this would be the ideal place to film. It was a messy art room. I thought this was a good idea, and showed connotations of frantic behaviour. Jake placed magazines all over the tables, and threw pencils everywhere. The guillotine was placed at the end of the table and was angled slightly to the left. It was looking brilliant. To complete the setting my sketchbook was placed directly in front of my chair: portraying myself as untidy yet hard-working. Several tracking shots took place that day. We did many panning shots from several different angles. I really like establishing shots, they are important as they show the audience my surroundings. They get a chance to see my working environment and this helps build up an impression of the character. During the filming process, on both days we used a broadcast camera. The camera remained on the tripod for most of the filming. I, myself am not a fan of hand-held camera work. Whilst Jake was filming, he suggested we at least try it. Jake managed to get some good footage hand-held. When shooting point of view shots, the camera was not on the tripod. On the second day it was George, Jake and I. This is where the close-ups took place. When one was filming,
I directed the other to photograph the filming process. This time round, everything was done handheld allowing the camera to get as close as possible. I usually detest close-ups, but as the focus was on other body parts such as my hand and mouth I didn’t mind as much. To pay homage to Requiem we filmed a series of extreme close-ups such as: masking tape being pulled out from the roll, tip of pencil lead snapping. We recorded these things over and over again. So we had more than enough footage and got used them more than once and in different places. When filming the close-ups, we also captured sound. Sound is a very important part of our short film. To create tension, in post-production we planned to over exaggerate the noises. When it came to editing we had over seventeen minutes of footage. Once we established the opening sequence and the narrative structure it was fairly straight forward from there.The editing process was a long, overwhelming yet rewarding journey. When working in a group, there is always going to be disagreements. After many disagreements, we managed to put all our sequences together and create Work Tara Work.
Sunday 19 April 2009
Hey, even the Mona Lisa's falling apart
Discuss some of the similarities + differences between the two films you have studied for this topic with particular reference to narrative and genre features
Both films, American Beauty and Fight Club share similar messages that they seek to communicate. They were both made in 1999 and share some similarities. Visually they are both completely different interestingly enough. Fight Club uses edgy, fast editing techniques. It was perceived as ground-breaking for its visual style in cinema. Whereas American Beauty does not use high-tech editing technique but it still beautifully cut together. Both films were described as the ‘most talked film of its time’.
Throughout the film there are several references and subtle digs at the American Dream. By doing this the audience learn that both directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and David Fincher (Fight Club) are very cynical when it comes to the ideologies of The American Dream. It isn’t hard to see that the directors do not agree with the ideologies that constantly surround us. The director’s thoughts on the Dream are represented through key elements such as narrative structure and the characters. For example for me Fight Club’s Tyler Durden is the voice of the director, David Fincher. It is quotes such as: “Right. We are consumers. We’re the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession” and “Hey, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart” which stand out for me. There are several moments throughout the film where I feel David Fincher is making a connection with the audience through the character. When Tyler says things like: “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear” I feel Fincher is angry with what the world has become.
I feel that Sam Medes does the same in American Beauty through the protagonist Lester Burnham. There is a scene in which Lester comes onto Carolyn and instead of giving into temptation she tells him to stop as he is going to spill beer on the sofa. When Lester argues that is it just a sofa, Carolyn screams: “This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk”. It is this next line where the voice of Mendes is present. “This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts. It seems to me that Fincher and Mendes share the same opinions.
Another thing both films have in common are the themes that they both play on. The films challenge pro-consumerism through their protagonists. Both American Beauty and Fight Club feature a wide selection of characters all different in their own little way. To me, each character has something unique about them considering how dominated they are by stereotypes. When it comes to their personal values the characters are not all that different from each other. They both feature characters rooting for different sides. In American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham and Jack are everything the American Dream stands for. They rely on the pro-consumerist ideologies to fulfill mental happiness. Whereas other protagonists such as Lester Burnham and Jack’s alter ego Tyler Durden live for something more meaningful. The two protagonists in both films are very similar from one another. Fight Club's Tyler Durden and American Beauty's Lester Burnham are both on a quest for physical embodiment. They struggle with masculinity and live joyless lives. They constantly seek happiness but they do so in a different way in which Carolyn and Tyler Durden do. I feel that both films deeply play on the idea of different stereotypes.
Fincher’s characters are a combination of stereotypes and facts. One in seventeen Americans (about six percent of the population) suffers from sever mental illness. Fight Club’s protagonist Jack is a prime example of this. It can be argued that he does not suffer from a metal illness. He actually suffers from insomnia which is a symptom not a disease. The fact that he imagine an alter-ego shows the audience that he is not all there.
Both films explore the theme voyeurism, particularly American Beauty as its tagline is 'look closer'. Again, this theme is explored through the character's actions. The audience forever sees Brad Pitt's character walking around in the fight scenes. He is a critical observer and this also emphasizes his strength as a character. American Beauty's Ricky Fitts is also an observer in a more obvious way. Fitts is never seen without his camera. He documents things he finds beautiful throughout the film. To some extent he is similar to Lester and Tyler as he also lives for the more important things. He is constantly picking up on the smaller, more important things such as Janey's expressions. Disfunctionality plays a big part in both films. I feel every character in both films embody this one way or another. For example American Beauty's Jane craves human contact and some sort of a relationship with her father. On the other hand Marla craves sexual contact in order to feel better about herself. Marla (Fight Club) and Jane are different, fresh representations of females. They challenge the hegemonic values of feminity and beauty. The two of them do not fit in anywhere; this is enlightening to see characters that are not a walking stereotype. Although it could be argued that they are the ‘misfit’ stereotype.Fight Club and American Beauty both immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative and a voice-over. They also both begin at the end of the film, challenging usual narrative convention. The two films feature homoerotic overtones and to some extent can fall under the black comedy genre. These overtones make the audience uncomfortable and thereby keep them from anticipating the twist ending.
Both films, American Beauty and Fight Club share similar messages that they seek to communicate. They were both made in 1999 and share some similarities. Visually they are both completely different interestingly enough. Fight Club uses edgy, fast editing techniques. It was perceived as ground-breaking for its visual style in cinema. Whereas American Beauty does not use high-tech editing technique but it still beautifully cut together. Both films were described as the ‘most talked film of its time’.
Throughout the film there are several references and subtle digs at the American Dream. By doing this the audience learn that both directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and David Fincher (Fight Club) are very cynical when it comes to the ideologies of The American Dream. It isn’t hard to see that the directors do not agree with the ideologies that constantly surround us. The director’s thoughts on the Dream are represented through key elements such as narrative structure and the characters. For example for me Fight Club’s Tyler Durden is the voice of the director, David Fincher. It is quotes such as: “Right. We are consumers. We’re the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession” and “Hey, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart” which stand out for me. There are several moments throughout the film where I feel David Fincher is making a connection with the audience through the character. When Tyler says things like: “Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear” I feel Fincher is angry with what the world has become.
I feel that Sam Medes does the same in American Beauty through the protagonist Lester Burnham. There is a scene in which Lester comes onto Carolyn and instead of giving into temptation she tells him to stop as he is going to spill beer on the sofa. When Lester argues that is it just a sofa, Carolyn screams: “This is a $4,000 sofa, upholstered in Italian silk”. It is this next line where the voice of Mendes is present. “This isn’t life, it’s just stuff. And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts. It seems to me that Fincher and Mendes share the same opinions.
Another thing both films have in common are the themes that they both play on. The films challenge pro-consumerism through their protagonists. Both American Beauty and Fight Club feature a wide selection of characters all different in their own little way. To me, each character has something unique about them considering how dominated they are by stereotypes. When it comes to their personal values the characters are not all that different from each other. They both feature characters rooting for different sides. In American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham and Jack are everything the American Dream stands for. They rely on the pro-consumerist ideologies to fulfill mental happiness. Whereas other protagonists such as Lester Burnham and Jack’s alter ego Tyler Durden live for something more meaningful. The two protagonists in both films are very similar from one another. Fight Club's Tyler Durden and American Beauty's Lester Burnham are both on a quest for physical embodiment. They struggle with masculinity and live joyless lives. They constantly seek happiness but they do so in a different way in which Carolyn and Tyler Durden do. I feel that both films deeply play on the idea of different stereotypes.
Fincher’s characters are a combination of stereotypes and facts. One in seventeen Americans (about six percent of the population) suffers from sever mental illness. Fight Club’s protagonist Jack is a prime example of this. It can be argued that he does not suffer from a metal illness. He actually suffers from insomnia which is a symptom not a disease. The fact that he imagine an alter-ego shows the audience that he is not all there.
Both films explore the theme voyeurism, particularly American Beauty as its tagline is 'look closer'. Again, this theme is explored through the character's actions. The audience forever sees Brad Pitt's character walking around in the fight scenes. He is a critical observer and this also emphasizes his strength as a character. American Beauty's Ricky Fitts is also an observer in a more obvious way. Fitts is never seen without his camera. He documents things he finds beautiful throughout the film. To some extent he is similar to Lester and Tyler as he also lives for the more important things. He is constantly picking up on the smaller, more important things such as Janey's expressions. Disfunctionality plays a big part in both films. I feel every character in both films embody this one way or another. For example American Beauty's Jane craves human contact and some sort of a relationship with her father. On the other hand Marla craves sexual contact in order to feel better about herself. Marla (Fight Club) and Jane are different, fresh representations of females. They challenge the hegemonic values of feminity and beauty. The two of them do not fit in anywhere; this is enlightening to see characters that are not a walking stereotype. Although it could be argued that they are the ‘misfit’ stereotype.Fight Club and American Beauty both immediately challenge the American Dream through narrative and a voice-over. They also both begin at the end of the film, challenging usual narrative convention. The two films feature homoerotic overtones and to some extent can fall under the black comedy genre. These overtones make the audience uncomfortable and thereby keep them from anticipating the twist ending.
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