Sound in documentary.
Considering my role in this production is sound I have decided to take a look at documentary purely in terms of it’s sound. By doing this I have been able to think more methodically how I’m going to go about my job.
Sound is definitely of upmost importance in a documentary. It is a powerful emotive tool within any film. When a documentary s just telling a story with no persuasive agenda the sound design aids the story. If it has a particular mood, the sound weather it be music or dialogue is imperative. Good sound is make or brake. The dialogue pushes along the narrative or reinforces certain points the filmmaker is trying to create. There fore its clarity and quality is of upmost importance. Because a documentary is factual and the audience need to believe what you’re telling them, the sound needs to seem ‘real’. There fore the use of Atmos is important so the illusion is not broken and the audience is drawn into the story or argument the filmmaker is putting across. In a persuasive documentary where the filmmaker is trying to put a point across and make you believe it and using sound design to create an emotive and powerful piece is very important. For example if a documentary is trying to create one person and the ‘villain’ and the other as a ‘victim’, the sound design is integral to how you feel abut these two characters. Therefore it can chance the tone of an entire film. So the sound really is important to Documentary.
The way of the Morris. (Tim Plester & Rob Curry)
Possibly my favourite documentary ever, thee use of sound is something that I find interesting. I know I’ve talked about this before but I feel this time I’m coming at it from a slightly different angle. In my opinion the sound design is both rich and deep. It is integral to the Film’s effectiveness as a whole.
There is a broad range of sound used. The most obvious is the interviews. I think the tequniques that Plester and Curry employ are effective. There is a mix of set up interviews and vox pops. This is a style that I think we are going to follow. This way we will get a mixture of opinions and views. In terms of interview techniques there appears to be a range of mics. Tie clips and most likely a rifle mic and boom pole. For set up interviews and vox pops respectively. I believe that this will be the most efficient way of doing things on our shoot in Liverpool. For both speed and quality of sound. Also if I was to try and set up members of the public with tie clip mics for quick fire interviews I think it would make them uncomfortable as they will already probably be nervous. It will also be time consuming where time is a precious commodity on this, or any shoot.
In terms of sound design, I really like the use of Digetic and non digetic Music. There is a great balance and methodical use of the music recorded at the dance outs and then either music from old records of music just recorded for the film. Another point here is how the sound helps to keep the film moving. The pace I feel is very driven, it’s not sedate. Given its subject matter I think it helps to convey the one of the films main points that Morris dancing is not just for boring old farts. It also helps with the effectiveness of one of the films most important sequences. When the dancers go to the war memorial suddenly the rhythm and pace that has been built up in the film stops, it is in some ways jarring but is incredibly effective. It makes the scene all the more poignant and thought provoking. This sudden silence is as well I think a great metaphor for what the war did to Adebury. Before there had been this deep folk tradition with music and dance and laughter. Then the war stopped it all. When the film them picks up the rhythm again it shows how resilient the village has been in coming back from this great tragedy that befell them. The way in which the sound helps to portray this, is, in my view a very inspiring thing.
So the main this to take from this is the fact there is more to sound then the simple technical aspects. This is of course incredibly important. Bad sound design can lead to the complete failure of any film. Due to all this, I am able to understand that the quality of the recording as well as the way in which they are put in the final are of equal and upmost importance.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Pockets
Pockets.
I think this is my favourite documentary that we watched in the seminar. Its style and subject are both appealing to me as a viewer and inspiring as a filmmaker.
I really enjoyed the way that it was like snapshots. Of a place, of people, their minds and lives. It was rapid and quick fire in a sense as it gave you a lot of information. However it was edited together in a way that the pace was sedate and pleasant to watch, you didn’t feel like you were being bombarded by information. The information was effectively conveyed in a way which gave us a lot of it but in a way that wasn’t too much for the viewer to comprehend.
It was just a really nice piece. Stylistically it looked great. It was soft and bright which really fitted the subject matter well. It wasn’t a dark or brooding piece. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was fun but it had lightness to it. Still it was a broad piece. Thought provoking. I saw it as a picture into people’s minds and lives rather than just simply their pockets. It was like a little window into people’s minds. Therefore it helps you see the wider world in a different way. It was like a little pause in the hustle and bustle of the day to stop and think. I think it was a really lovely piece of work that was mostly positive. I think it’s something we are going to aim for tone wise. We all enjoyed this documentary immensely
I think this is my favourite documentary that we watched in the seminar. Its style and subject are both appealing to me as a viewer and inspiring as a filmmaker.
I really enjoyed the way that it was like snapshots. Of a place, of people, their minds and lives. It was rapid and quick fire in a sense as it gave you a lot of information. However it was edited together in a way that the pace was sedate and pleasant to watch, you didn’t feel like you were being bombarded by information. The information was effectively conveyed in a way which gave us a lot of it but in a way that wasn’t too much for the viewer to comprehend.
It was just a really nice piece. Stylistically it looked great. It was soft and bright which really fitted the subject matter well. It wasn’t a dark or brooding piece. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was fun but it had lightness to it. Still it was a broad piece. Thought provoking. I saw it as a picture into people’s minds and lives rather than just simply their pockets. It was like a little window into people’s minds. Therefore it helps you see the wider world in a different way. It was like a little pause in the hustle and bustle of the day to stop and think. I think it was a really lovely piece of work that was mostly positive. I think it’s something we are going to aim for tone wise. We all enjoyed this documentary immensely
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Critcal evaluation of the finished experimental piece 'The Raven'
In the end I am quite happy with how this piece turned out. I think that it fits the brief and that we made a good attempt at an experimental film. This is not to say however that there are not faults with it.
First the actual content of the film. I feel the films most striking feature is the use of lighting in the scenes where the Character Lewelyn, the voice in side Ben's head, is lit by lights with red and blue filter. The brief, being one that asked for experimental gave us free range to try different lighting structure and colours more than we would have been able to in a standard drama or documentary that would simply ask for three point lighting. We looked for different ways to create meaning in this piece and the lighting is a key example of this. In film conventions it is widely accepted that s character who is dimly lit or in the shadows is either hiding or 'in the dark' or ignorant of something. Similarly a well lit character is usually accepted as a knowledgeable, powerful or a good person. Here we have subverted this slightly. The well lit character of Lewelyn is obviously the opposite of a good person, therefore a polar opposite of what Ben is perceived or sees himself to be. So here we wanted to experiment by lighting Llewelyn well where as Ben is darker and duller. This then symbolises that Ben is receding, into the Darkness whereas Lewelyn is coming into the light. Therefore the message conveyed is that Ben and Lewelyn are in a sort of competition for control and as Lewelyn becomes brighter Ben becomes Darker. This is reinforced by when Ben takes the tablet Lewelyn recedes into the darkness showing that for a short time he is being pushed back into the darkness and quietened down. This however is only temporary. What this also does is anchor that Lewelyn is a fixture of Ben's imagination.
One of the other major experimental elements to this piece is the editing techniques we decided to employ. One of the standout effects is the ‘bad TV’ which creates the effect of a TV with a bad signal. As well as this we used the sound of static over the top of any dialogue. This was in order to convey the message that whatever Ben was saying was being impaired or was weak. The signal was interfered and weak therefore the same can be said for the character of Ben. One thing I really enjoyed with this brief was the ability to experiment so much with the use of editing and lighting it meant we were able to tell a story in a different manner. Instead of it being said explicitly the story is hinted at through our use of lighting, after effects and sound design. Personally I found this incredibly interesting. The chance to experiment in this way was something that had previously not been something I had had much interest in. However now I have a whole new appreciation for this discipline and the scope that it has. There is so much that you can do with it and not be hindered by any of the ‘normal’ filmic conventions.
Another point on our editing is the pace, I think that we achieved a pace that was driven enough to keep the audience’s attention but was not quick enough as to be off putting. We did use flash cutting but it was sparsely but this was in order to create a sense of drama and tension. Conveying to the audience the element of the film where Lewelyn is taking over Ben’s body. Again we were given free rain to do this due to the experimental brief.
The Sound design is also something that makes the piece strong. My favourite element in this is the Bird song. The conations of bird song are of peaceful mornings, and of nature’s beauty. Here it has been manipulated into something grotesque which moves along the story. By going against the cultural connotations of bird song and createing a garbled mess that when linked to the images created a strong message. The idea of trying to block something out but in effect making it worse. It also creates this feeling that Lewelyn is getting angrier. In general the sound is well put together and thought out in my opinion
In General I am very pleased with the outcome of this project; I feel it is a well rounded piece that fits the brief. It tells a story but does not rely on narrative conventions. Instead it uses light, editing, and sound to tell its story. Recounting something with out the need for explicit story telling.
I think the main thing I have taken away from this project is a new appreciation for experimental film and filmmaking. Before I am ashamed to admit I was a little sceptical but taking on the research necessary has made all traces of this scepticism vanish. I now have a wide understanding of Experimental film as a ‘genre’ or category. In addition I feel that this project has shown me a different approach to filmmaking. And in particular story telling. Before I had mainly seen narrative in terms of the familiar theories and conventions. Now I see and understand how to create a strong structure that does not reply on implicit dialogue of conventional narrative conventions.
In terms of my practice on this project, I feel I worked well in terms of the group and in terms of my role as producer director. I made sure we were organised and managed to get all our filming done in the given time frames. I feel I acted in a professional manner with regards t timetabling and organisation. In terms of directing, Stephen and my self tended to both shared the directing and the camera work on set. In heinsight although it doesn’t fir our designated role, it worked well, as we were both able to give our spontaneous ideas that gave us extra footage to work with in the edit suite. This was experimental this was no bad thing and we ended up with about 2 hours of footage over all. Although this lead to a monumental organisational task during the capture it meant we were not restricted in anyway by lack f footage. So overall I feel this was a well managed production.
In conclusion, we were all very pleased with this piece and although the brief at the beginning mat have given us a little bit of a headache in terms of ideas, we came up with many and I feel we executed our final idea, in a well rounded and competent manner. Displaying our skills and knowledge of both the medium of experimental film and the equipment used.
First the actual content of the film. I feel the films most striking feature is the use of lighting in the scenes where the Character Lewelyn, the voice in side Ben's head, is lit by lights with red and blue filter. The brief, being one that asked for experimental gave us free range to try different lighting structure and colours more than we would have been able to in a standard drama or documentary that would simply ask for three point lighting. We looked for different ways to create meaning in this piece and the lighting is a key example of this. In film conventions it is widely accepted that s character who is dimly lit or in the shadows is either hiding or 'in the dark' or ignorant of something. Similarly a well lit character is usually accepted as a knowledgeable, powerful or a good person. Here we have subverted this slightly. The well lit character of Lewelyn is obviously the opposite of a good person, therefore a polar opposite of what Ben is perceived or sees himself to be. So here we wanted to experiment by lighting Llewelyn well where as Ben is darker and duller. This then symbolises that Ben is receding, into the Darkness whereas Lewelyn is coming into the light. Therefore the message conveyed is that Ben and Lewelyn are in a sort of competition for control and as Lewelyn becomes brighter Ben becomes Darker. This is reinforced by when Ben takes the tablet Lewelyn recedes into the darkness showing that for a short time he is being pushed back into the darkness and quietened down. This however is only temporary. What this also does is anchor that Lewelyn is a fixture of Ben's imagination.
One of the other major experimental elements to this piece is the editing techniques we decided to employ. One of the standout effects is the ‘bad TV’ which creates the effect of a TV with a bad signal. As well as this we used the sound of static over the top of any dialogue. This was in order to convey the message that whatever Ben was saying was being impaired or was weak. The signal was interfered and weak therefore the same can be said for the character of Ben. One thing I really enjoyed with this brief was the ability to experiment so much with the use of editing and lighting it meant we were able to tell a story in a different manner. Instead of it being said explicitly the story is hinted at through our use of lighting, after effects and sound design. Personally I found this incredibly interesting. The chance to experiment in this way was something that had previously not been something I had had much interest in. However now I have a whole new appreciation for this discipline and the scope that it has. There is so much that you can do with it and not be hindered by any of the ‘normal’ filmic conventions.
Another point on our editing is the pace, I think that we achieved a pace that was driven enough to keep the audience’s attention but was not quick enough as to be off putting. We did use flash cutting but it was sparsely but this was in order to create a sense of drama and tension. Conveying to the audience the element of the film where Lewelyn is taking over Ben’s body. Again we were given free rain to do this due to the experimental brief.
The Sound design is also something that makes the piece strong. My favourite element in this is the Bird song. The conations of bird song are of peaceful mornings, and of nature’s beauty. Here it has been manipulated into something grotesque which moves along the story. By going against the cultural connotations of bird song and createing a garbled mess that when linked to the images created a strong message. The idea of trying to block something out but in effect making it worse. It also creates this feeling that Lewelyn is getting angrier. In general the sound is well put together and thought out in my opinion
In General I am very pleased with the outcome of this project; I feel it is a well rounded piece that fits the brief. It tells a story but does not rely on narrative conventions. Instead it uses light, editing, and sound to tell its story. Recounting something with out the need for explicit story telling.
I think the main thing I have taken away from this project is a new appreciation for experimental film and filmmaking. Before I am ashamed to admit I was a little sceptical but taking on the research necessary has made all traces of this scepticism vanish. I now have a wide understanding of Experimental film as a ‘genre’ or category. In addition I feel that this project has shown me a different approach to filmmaking. And in particular story telling. Before I had mainly seen narrative in terms of the familiar theories and conventions. Now I see and understand how to create a strong structure that does not reply on implicit dialogue of conventional narrative conventions.
In terms of my practice on this project, I feel I worked well in terms of the group and in terms of my role as producer director. I made sure we were organised and managed to get all our filming done in the given time frames. I feel I acted in a professional manner with regards t timetabling and organisation. In terms of directing, Stephen and my self tended to both shared the directing and the camera work on set. In heinsight although it doesn’t fir our designated role, it worked well, as we were both able to give our spontaneous ideas that gave us extra footage to work with in the edit suite. This was experimental this was no bad thing and we ended up with about 2 hours of footage over all. Although this lead to a monumental organisational task during the capture it meant we were not restricted in anyway by lack f footage. So overall I feel this was a well managed production.
In conclusion, we were all very pleased with this piece and although the brief at the beginning mat have given us a little bit of a headache in terms of ideas, we came up with many and I feel we executed our final idea, in a well rounded and competent manner. Displaying our skills and knowledge of both the medium of experimental film and the equipment used.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
'Blue Monday'
Blue Monday-Duvet Brothers (1984)
This piece could be described as a ‘scratch piece’. In terms of experimental film, I find it incredibly interesting.
The concept of the film is something different to what one would expect even for an experimental film. However weather or not it is right to be able to expect anything from an experimental film in another issue all together. The best way I can think of to describe this piece is a collage, a collage of moving images, news reels rather than newspaper cuttings. The images, are from a broad range of sources, and seem to be in several categories. One to represent the rich and powerful in society, images of the royal family, a man burning a bank note with a cigar, vulgar displays of wealth. Then there are the images of the miner’s strikes and the poverty of the working classes of Britain in the late 70s and early 80s. Then there are the images of communist displays of military power and organisation. Then there is the text inter woven with these images. There are many different visual elements in the film. Each adds something to the films overall message and power.
The meaning created by these images is seemingly obvious. The filmmakers are making a statement about the political and social atmosphere of Britain in 1980s Britain. The main point to make here is the idea of juxtaposition to create meaning. Here we have the images of great privilege and wealth against images of striking miners. This obviously shows the two extremes of the economic scale that existed. The images then that are brought in of the Thatcher and the Torie government consolidate this idea. Her government was all about the self and capitalism. The film then is clearly trying to convey the message of the evils of the Tory government and their selfish ideals.
The other message I feel is conveyed in this film is the ideas of capitalism leading to chaos and anger. This is then reinforced by imaged of the miner strikes and clashes between protesters and the police overplayed by pictures of organised military parades of what seems to bean eastern European communist state. This then is clearly conveying the massage that capitalism and selfishness lads to chaos but a communism and the idea of sharing out wealth fairly leads to an ordered state.
Another point that adds to the meaning of the film is the soundtrack. The music is a classic 80s synth pop track however at the time it was new and revolutionary. Much like industry was becoming less and less dependant on the power of men (the miners strikes) the music is not reliant on the talent of several different gifted musicians, it is a more mechanical process. Everything is becoming less organic. Also the actual sound, this driving industrial sound is fitting to the themes, the idea of an industrial nation in disrepair fits well with the ideas of a nation that is becoming more mechanical and electronic and fewer dependants on man power.
What category this film actually falls into is a slightly difficult issue. This film could be described as a documentary, as it is documenting the political culture of the 80s and how many of the population were felling. Its use of stock footage and newsreel fits into the conventions of documentary. The editing and composition however does not. It is much more free. I see this as an experimental film for this reason. Usually while making a film about political unrest, a filmmaker would go to interview people, gain different opinions. This disregards all of these ‘rules’. To me this defines it as an experimental piece. The editing is something particularly interesting. The way the music and clips are edited in a way that fits together makes the film even more effective. The cuts fit to the beats of the music which makes it a lot more interesting for the view and also more powerful. It makes one take notice; the beats in the music and the rhythm are replicated through image. One example of this is when the military procession is crossing the screen; they appear to be marching in time to the music. This creates a more powerful image and is a great example of how these filmmakers have used the combination of music and sound to create such an effective piece.
In terms of inspiration and influence for the project, the editing of ‘Blue Monday’ is something that I think we can draw on. Not the themes or massage it conveys but the way it uses cuts to create a more powerful film. One parallel I have noticed with the provided viewing materials is with the Chemical Brothers’ ‘Star Guitar’ video. The way the beats match cuts or action on screen. The industrial feel to the music, and industrial back drop. Although the Chemical Brothers are not trying to convey any strong political message there are some similarities.
In conclusion this is a vey effective piece of work. It conveys a message concisely while still being interesting to watch.
This piece could be described as a ‘scratch piece’. In terms of experimental film, I find it incredibly interesting.
The concept of the film is something different to what one would expect even for an experimental film. However weather or not it is right to be able to expect anything from an experimental film in another issue all together. The best way I can think of to describe this piece is a collage, a collage of moving images, news reels rather than newspaper cuttings. The images, are from a broad range of sources, and seem to be in several categories. One to represent the rich and powerful in society, images of the royal family, a man burning a bank note with a cigar, vulgar displays of wealth. Then there are the images of the miner’s strikes and the poverty of the working classes of Britain in the late 70s and early 80s. Then there are the images of communist displays of military power and organisation. Then there is the text inter woven with these images. There are many different visual elements in the film. Each adds something to the films overall message and power.
The meaning created by these images is seemingly obvious. The filmmakers are making a statement about the political and social atmosphere of Britain in 1980s Britain. The main point to make here is the idea of juxtaposition to create meaning. Here we have the images of great privilege and wealth against images of striking miners. This obviously shows the two extremes of the economic scale that existed. The images then that are brought in of the Thatcher and the Torie government consolidate this idea. Her government was all about the self and capitalism. The film then is clearly trying to convey the message of the evils of the Tory government and their selfish ideals.
The other message I feel is conveyed in this film is the ideas of capitalism leading to chaos and anger. This is then reinforced by imaged of the miner strikes and clashes between protesters and the police overplayed by pictures of organised military parades of what seems to bean eastern European communist state. This then is clearly conveying the massage that capitalism and selfishness lads to chaos but a communism and the idea of sharing out wealth fairly leads to an ordered state.
Another point that adds to the meaning of the film is the soundtrack. The music is a classic 80s synth pop track however at the time it was new and revolutionary. Much like industry was becoming less and less dependant on the power of men (the miners strikes) the music is not reliant on the talent of several different gifted musicians, it is a more mechanical process. Everything is becoming less organic. Also the actual sound, this driving industrial sound is fitting to the themes, the idea of an industrial nation in disrepair fits well with the ideas of a nation that is becoming more mechanical and electronic and fewer dependants on man power.
What category this film actually falls into is a slightly difficult issue. This film could be described as a documentary, as it is documenting the political culture of the 80s and how many of the population were felling. Its use of stock footage and newsreel fits into the conventions of documentary. The editing and composition however does not. It is much more free. I see this as an experimental film for this reason. Usually while making a film about political unrest, a filmmaker would go to interview people, gain different opinions. This disregards all of these ‘rules’. To me this defines it as an experimental piece. The editing is something particularly interesting. The way the music and clips are edited in a way that fits together makes the film even more effective. The cuts fit to the beats of the music which makes it a lot more interesting for the view and also more powerful. It makes one take notice; the beats in the music and the rhythm are replicated through image. One example of this is when the military procession is crossing the screen; they appear to be marching in time to the music. This creates a more powerful image and is a great example of how these filmmakers have used the combination of music and sound to create such an effective piece.
In terms of inspiration and influence for the project, the editing of ‘Blue Monday’ is something that I think we can draw on. Not the themes or massage it conveys but the way it uses cuts to create a more powerful film. One parallel I have noticed with the provided viewing materials is with the Chemical Brothers’ ‘Star Guitar’ video. The way the beats match cuts or action on screen. The industrial feel to the music, and industrial back drop. Although the Chemical Brothers are not trying to convey any strong political message there are some similarities.
In conclusion this is a vey effective piece of work. It conveys a message concisely while still being interesting to watch.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Final plans
All of our original plans have essentially gone out the window. We decided than it was going to become a little cliché and would easily become a series or random shots and ideas and we didn’t want that.
We have now decided on a final plan but this has come through several stages of development. We wrote down loads of words, flicking through book stopping on random pages and picking out words. From doing this we stumbled upon the word suffocation. From this we thought about all the connotations of the word. Through this we came up with the basic idea of society suffocating out human emotions and desires. As it is important for us to have a strong theme, we saw this as a way to be free within an idea but still have a central idea to relate to. From this we came up with several shot ideas that were visual metaphors for being unable to express your emotions or true feelings.
Shot idea 1. The first idea for a shot is t have several people with black tape over their moths to symbolise being unable to speak.
Shot idea 2. To have a circle of people with tights over their heads to show being enclosed. The tight are a physical barrier for the thought that will not be aired to the real world.
Shot idea 3. To have someone with a plastic bag over their head with the camera inside to show literal suffocation that would relate to a figurative suffocation of words.
From this the idea evolved again when we saw a verse of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘the Raven’ on Stephen’s can of energy drink.
‘Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.’
The line,’ Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before’ really struck a chord with us. The idea that there are thing that we dare not say, dare not even think. Also the idea that in the poem the protagonist is being tormented by this raven was something we were interested in. This then formed into our final idea.
The main outline is to have a main character who has a voice inside his head who is tormenting him to do the things he really desires. Having cast Ben our main character is therefore called Ben. We are going to create a physical manifestation of this voice by filming Ben being that ‘little man’ in his own head. This is where we intend to employ the use of lighting that is not generally considered as a convention. We will film in one of the performance studios so we have a completely black environment and then using colours of light we will create moods of anger and sadness or loneliness in order to show the inner workings of this character. We also intend to be inventive with the use of sound. It is integral and will help to create this atmosphere of tension that is between Ben and his inner self. We hope to break away from normal conventions with this use of lighting and sound and also in the edit by making the cuts in places that will make everything seem unhinged.
Now we have a final plan we can now start filming!
We have now decided on a final plan but this has come through several stages of development. We wrote down loads of words, flicking through book stopping on random pages and picking out words. From doing this we stumbled upon the word suffocation. From this we thought about all the connotations of the word. Through this we came up with the basic idea of society suffocating out human emotions and desires. As it is important for us to have a strong theme, we saw this as a way to be free within an idea but still have a central idea to relate to. From this we came up with several shot ideas that were visual metaphors for being unable to express your emotions or true feelings.
Shot idea 1. The first idea for a shot is t have several people with black tape over their moths to symbolise being unable to speak.
Shot idea 2. To have a circle of people with tights over their heads to show being enclosed. The tight are a physical barrier for the thought that will not be aired to the real world.
Shot idea 3. To have someone with a plastic bag over their head with the camera inside to show literal suffocation that would relate to a figurative suffocation of words.
From this the idea evolved again when we saw a verse of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘the Raven’ on Stephen’s can of energy drink.
‘Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.’
The line,’ Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before’ really struck a chord with us. The idea that there are thing that we dare not say, dare not even think. Also the idea that in the poem the protagonist is being tormented by this raven was something we were interested in. This then formed into our final idea.
The main outline is to have a main character who has a voice inside his head who is tormenting him to do the things he really desires. Having cast Ben our main character is therefore called Ben. We are going to create a physical manifestation of this voice by filming Ben being that ‘little man’ in his own head. This is where we intend to employ the use of lighting that is not generally considered as a convention. We will film in one of the performance studios so we have a completely black environment and then using colours of light we will create moods of anger and sadness or loneliness in order to show the inner workings of this character. We also intend to be inventive with the use of sound. It is integral and will help to create this atmosphere of tension that is between Ben and his inner self. We hope to break away from normal conventions with this use of lighting and sound and also in the edit by making the cuts in places that will make everything seem unhinged.
Now we have a final plan we can now start filming!
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
'Om'
At first glance ‘Om’ is not a particularly complex piece of work due to its short length. However in my opinion there is an awful lot wrapped up in just under two minutes.
The Most apparent feature in this film is its use f representation and in turn how it plays on our expectations due to cultural connotations. The opening shot paint the picture of a Buddhist monk meditating. The slight wispy curl of smoke indicates a stick of incense burning slightly off camera. The orange robe fits with the universally accepted dress of a Buddhist monk. As does the shaved head. The continuous ‘om’ that plays out in the background help to round off this idea of a meditating Buddhist monk that has been laid out. This image brings to mind then several different elements that would go along with a meditating monk. Ideas of peace and tranquillity that the Buddhist religion is famed for.
The film then moves on to reveal slowly that this is not a tranquil Buddhist monk, but a Skin head, in a barbers shop. These two groups of people are polar opposites, their only connecting feature being a shaved head. In doing this the film makes one question their own judgment. This is what appears to be the filmmaker’s intention. It is also a seemingly brief study of how powerful semiotics can be in a viewers judgment of a character. The ‘skinhead’ does not say a word but already we judge him. When he appears to be a monk we assume he is a peaceful person, full of love for the world and everything init. When he is revealed to be a skin head, signified by his dress-a Fred Perry shirt, braces, shaved head- we see him as a violent racist thug. SO this is in some ways a play on the old ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. However I believe there is a deeper meaning than simply that. I believe it is more about representation of characters within film. Sometimes characters have to be introduced quickly and the best way to do this is through representation. This again reinforces the idea that we assume things about this man from simply seeing him, the film appeared to be saying how powerful visual impressions are on a human’s judgment of character.
This is an incredibly effective film, in only a short space of time it manages to portray an incredibly strong message. More than portraying a message it make one consider their own judgements of people. What’s more it also challenges the idea of basic filmic conventions of representation being an effective method of introducing a character, as here it is clearly shown not to be. In addition to this the film is genuinely comic. Which is something that is not especially common place within the school of experimental film. I would also say that ‘om’ definitely falls under the bracket of experimental film. It, as has been shown, challenges the conventions of ‘normal filmmaking.
Taking this film in an inspirational context, it is definitely something we will draw on. The use of lighting is something we are especially interested in. The way the skinhead is the only thing in the show lit ageist a black background is something we want to use in our film.
The Most apparent feature in this film is its use f representation and in turn how it plays on our expectations due to cultural connotations. The opening shot paint the picture of a Buddhist monk meditating. The slight wispy curl of smoke indicates a stick of incense burning slightly off camera. The orange robe fits with the universally accepted dress of a Buddhist monk. As does the shaved head. The continuous ‘om’ that plays out in the background help to round off this idea of a meditating Buddhist monk that has been laid out. This image brings to mind then several different elements that would go along with a meditating monk. Ideas of peace and tranquillity that the Buddhist religion is famed for.
The film then moves on to reveal slowly that this is not a tranquil Buddhist monk, but a Skin head, in a barbers shop. These two groups of people are polar opposites, their only connecting feature being a shaved head. In doing this the film makes one question their own judgment. This is what appears to be the filmmaker’s intention. It is also a seemingly brief study of how powerful semiotics can be in a viewers judgment of a character. The ‘skinhead’ does not say a word but already we judge him. When he appears to be a monk we assume he is a peaceful person, full of love for the world and everything init. When he is revealed to be a skin head, signified by his dress-a Fred Perry shirt, braces, shaved head- we see him as a violent racist thug. SO this is in some ways a play on the old ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. However I believe there is a deeper meaning than simply that. I believe it is more about representation of characters within film. Sometimes characters have to be introduced quickly and the best way to do this is through representation. This again reinforces the idea that we assume things about this man from simply seeing him, the film appeared to be saying how powerful visual impressions are on a human’s judgment of character.
This is an incredibly effective film, in only a short space of time it manages to portray an incredibly strong message. More than portraying a message it make one consider their own judgements of people. What’s more it also challenges the idea of basic filmic conventions of representation being an effective method of introducing a character, as here it is clearly shown not to be. In addition to this the film is genuinely comic. Which is something that is not especially common place within the school of experimental film. I would also say that ‘om’ definitely falls under the bracket of experimental film. It, as has been shown, challenges the conventions of ‘normal filmmaking.
Taking this film in an inspirational context, it is definitely something we will draw on. The use of lighting is something we are especially interested in. The way the skinhead is the only thing in the show lit ageist a black background is something we want to use in our film.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Priduction meeting no.1 experimental film
Planning session no.1
So, yesterday evening, Charlotte, Stephen and I held our first planning meeting for this project. Beforehand each of us had done our own research and come up with a few different ideas. In addition to this we each brought our own ideas of what experimental film meant to us. As it is such a wide spectrum it was important to us that we made sure we were on ‘the same page’ so to speak.
We each showed a few examples that we had come across in the process if our research. This gave us all an idea of what the others had in mind when it came to experimental film. It also helped to give some context to the ideas. By doing this before we got into the real ‘nitty gritty’ of the planning process we gained a good bedrock for what we were talking about. We all knew what we were dealing with which made life a lot less difficult. One overriding thing e got from this discussion was that in our film we did want a strong idea of a structure. Some films we had seen had seemed to come under the banner of being a lot of random images placed together. In some cases this does work and work well but or us it is important to have not necessarily a narrative but some strong thematic structure.
When we had shared our examples we discussed them. Between the three of us we picked out what we did and did like about them and also began to discuss what we wanted our film to be about. Also how we are going to approach the idea of ‘experimental’. Obviously for us as with most if not all experimental filmmakers it involved working outside generally accepted filmic conventions.
As the brief stated we should base the film on either a word, an object or a poem , having read a short poem ‘how many miles to Babylon’ and always having had a fascination with sleep and the dream world it leads to I was keen to do some thing with this. When Stephen mentioned the idea of Lucid dreaming I was happy to interject my ideas at this point. From this we came up with several different idea that all revolved around the ideas of dreams and gaining control of them. For us this is an exiting route to go down, as within the grounds of experimental film there is a large scope to really explore the dream world without being tied down with such conventions of a narrative structure that makes complete sense. Dreams after all are usually lacking in this department.
So after a good few hours of a Skype call we have a strong idea to start from, we have decided to go off and individually come up with a few different ideas based on this.
So, yesterday evening, Charlotte, Stephen and I held our first planning meeting for this project. Beforehand each of us had done our own research and come up with a few different ideas. In addition to this we each brought our own ideas of what experimental film meant to us. As it is such a wide spectrum it was important to us that we made sure we were on ‘the same page’ so to speak.
We each showed a few examples that we had come across in the process if our research. This gave us all an idea of what the others had in mind when it came to experimental film. It also helped to give some context to the ideas. By doing this before we got into the real ‘nitty gritty’ of the planning process we gained a good bedrock for what we were talking about. We all knew what we were dealing with which made life a lot less difficult. One overriding thing e got from this discussion was that in our film we did want a strong idea of a structure. Some films we had seen had seemed to come under the banner of being a lot of random images placed together. In some cases this does work and work well but or us it is important to have not necessarily a narrative but some strong thematic structure.
When we had shared our examples we discussed them. Between the three of us we picked out what we did and did like about them and also began to discuss what we wanted our film to be about. Also how we are going to approach the idea of ‘experimental’. Obviously for us as with most if not all experimental filmmakers it involved working outside generally accepted filmic conventions.
As the brief stated we should base the film on either a word, an object or a poem , having read a short poem ‘how many miles to Babylon’ and always having had a fascination with sleep and the dream world it leads to I was keen to do some thing with this. When Stephen mentioned the idea of Lucid dreaming I was happy to interject my ideas at this point. From this we came up with several different idea that all revolved around the ideas of dreams and gaining control of them. For us this is an exiting route to go down, as within the grounds of experimental film there is a large scope to really explore the dream world without being tied down with such conventions of a narrative structure that makes complete sense. Dreams after all are usually lacking in this department.
So after a good few hours of a Skype call we have a strong idea to start from, we have decided to go off and individually come up with a few different ideas based on this.
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