MOOD BOARD

hope it works . . . haha

gantt project

my gantt project that i am hoping to keep up to date on . . . .

Statement Of Intentions - still a work in progress!

My production aim is to produce a 5-minute live action film about a spy that has to rescue something from an enemy’s base. Instead of using people, though, I will be using dogs. It is aimed at all audiences, ranging from children to adults because everyone can perceive different meanings from it.

The main influences for my production are action films such as 'Mission: Impossible' and the James Bond films, due to the genre and general plot line. Also the film 'Cats & Dogs', because the film treats animals like humans which is similar to what I want to make.

I want to take a few aspects - to do with camera work, sound, editing, lighting and general mise-en-scene – from each of my influences, and include some of my original ideas to create a production that is conventional, but also different, so that it is new and exciting.

Therefore I will be studying Lawrence Guterman (the director of ‘Cats & Dogs’) and the general directors of the ‘James Bond’ films. I want to include the techniques of a fast moving, action packed spy film, as well as the understanding of how to capture a dog on camera best: which camera shots and angles create a more realistic illusion.

Unfortunately my budget is very low, so I cannot copy some of the features that I would like to (such as lip synching the animals mouths so it appears that they are speaking) but I am hoping to make them bark, and then have subtitles underneath so it seems like that they are talking.

I would like to include the suspense. Flickering, short cuts and chilling music……………

Diversity of shot types to keep the audience interested, make it more exciting, and to create a more dramatic atmosphere.

The genre will be based around action, but bringing in adventure and thriller as well. I also want to incorporate other suggestions of genres that the audience will react well to, such as comedy and the idea of suspense. These two are particularly good because I want to make the audience feel contrasting emotions so that the film will have a bigger and better effect and make it more memorable. The comedy aspect is the whole idea of a dog acting as a human, and doing ordinary things that we do everyday.

Casablanca

Casablanca was a film created in 1942, directed by Micheal Curtiz slotting into the the genre of 'classical hollywood cinema.' The plot is set in world war two, and focuses on exiled american Rick Blaine who is a successful but lonely cafe owner. When his former and only love Ilsa returns to Casablanca with her husband he is faced with a difficult decision. The plot is fairly non-sensational containing relaxing and comforting story-lines, but Casablanca is considered formalist because of its form. The form comes under 5 main categories, which are:

-Lighting

-Mise-en-scene

-Camerawork

-Editing

-Sound

classical hollywood cinema

Classical hollywood cinema was a era of much glamour and beauty that reigned from the late 20's to the late 50's.

'Casablanca' - 1942



'It's a wonderful life' - 1935


'King Kong' - 1933


i think it is formalist because it shows life in a warped, fairytale style, which is very romantic and picturesque. this results in a whole new world, which is entirely unrealistic, therefore formalist.

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

LIGHTING, MISE-SCENE, SOUND, CAMERAWORK AND EDITING
Today we looked at 'German Expressionism'. When it started, who was involved, what it meant and the key features.

WHEN AND WHO?
German expressionism started in the 1920s, in Germany. Perhaps the first ever example of G.E is 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1920) which is one of the most known films of the movement. Later films include Nosferatu (1922), Phantom (1922), Schatten (1923), and The Last Laugh (1924). The directors include: Robert Wiene, Paul Wegener, Fritz Lang and W . F
Murnau.

What are the key features of German expressionism?
German Expressionism depends heavily on mise-en-scene. Shapes are distorted and exaggerated unrealistically. Actors often wear heavy makeup and move in jerky or slow, sinuous patterns. The lighting is very dramatic, using shadows to create and stark colours fr a more deluded effect. Also symbolic action and characterisation.

Where can the influence of G.E. be seen in film history?
German Expressionism has been repeated throughout film history, though sometimes only in snatches. It is heavily influential, and has been through all the ages, even including modern cinema movements, such as 'film noir'. Certain other forms of film have adapted its style, such as the music video 'Living dead girl' by Rob Zombie, that was made in 1999, yet still contains key features. It has also influenced theatre, in productions such as 'Edward scissor hands'.




in film history in films such as 'Run Lola Run' which is a later formalist film which includes all the key features of German Expressionism

Why Is 'Run Lola Run!' A Formalist Film?

In class today we watched 'Run Lola Run!', which is a German film made in 1998 and directed by Tom Tykwer. We immediately decided that it was a formalist, because of the cartoon titles and the odd lighting. After it had finished we were asked to create a blog determining all the other features in the film that make it formalist.

THE LIGHTING AND COLOURS:

The lighting was very 'loud'. There were no soft tones and it was very stark and contrasting. Also with the colours, which clashed continuously. Another interesting feature was an repitition (or obsession) with the colour red, which was continued throughout the film (E.g Lolas hair, various passer by's clothes, the telephone, large amounts of posters on the walls etc...)

SOUND
There were a lot of cartoon-ish sound effects and the dynamics varied depending on the tension and atmosphere of the scene/situation.

EDITING
The editing was possibly the most formalist aspect of the film. The film consisted of one event, played back three times and changed y fate or someones different decision each time. We watched (basically) the same thing three times and there didnt seem to be any clear direction. I was confused about which was real and which weren't. Also the random cartoon sequences.

CAMERAWORK
The camerawork was formalist because of the odd angles it shot from, and the style in which it filmed. For example, in dramatic moments the camera would appear to be staggering towards the events, like it was hand-held to create illusions and confuse the audience.

MISE-EN-SCENE
the main formailst aspect in the mise-en-scene, was (as i said earlier) the repetition of the colour red.

The Moving Man

This week we have been studying formalism and realism. We started off by coming up with definitions:

FORMALISM

Analyzing the structure, form and artistic  techniques, rather then the contents. The idea is to create a very random, completely illogical piece of 'art' that is driven by the structure of the art, rather then the content, and encourages the audience to deconstruct the meaning.

REALISM

The representation in art or literature of objects, actions or social conditions as they actually are, without idealization or presentation in abstract form.

We were then told to create a short (30 second) film so we could experience the genre  further. we were given a choice out of the two to make our film in the style of. We chose formalist, and called our production 'The Moving Man.'

To highlight the difference between formalist and realist more blatantly, we decided that we would make the plot very realist - a man walking a dog - but every other aspect completely formalist.

We were then delegated different roles within the film, such as lighting, camerawork, editing etc.. I chose to take mise-en-scene along with Rebecca and Olivia. Our job was to decide what the man looked like. Our first thought was to have him as a mannequin so it would be very surreal, but we couldn't get hold of one. We then decided just to bring in a range of masks and other items (Such as cloaks) and see what worked best. We ended up with myself in a monster mask from rebecca, a sparkly cloak from me and monster feet from rebecca.

For the dog we used a range of props. firstly, a large chess piece, a small hand made doll and a flipper. the effect was fairly amusing and created the sort of random atmosphere we were going for.

i was very pleased with the rough cuts, although it did drift away from the main idea, because I didn't do very much moving!

Homework: 3 key ways the 'sony bravia' advert will influence my production.

1. COLOUR
The bouncy balls were very colorful, which made them incredibly eye-catching. This resulted in the balls being the complete focus of the adverts, making the background appear dull. I want to include this element of the advert in my production because my story is about the ball (or penny or ballbearing . . i haven't decided yet!) so it needs to be the center of attention at all times.

2. SLO-MO SHOTS
During the advert, they slowed several shots down, creating more of an effect and giving the audience time to understand properly what the advert was about (the balls move so fast its hard to see fully at normal speed shots). This will influence my production greatly, because not only does it create a diversity of shot types, it makes a very dramatic and timeless atmosphere.

3. SOUND
I really liked the soundtrack of the advert, because its simplicity and gentleness created a very happy and laid back atmosphere. I definitely want my production to have this feeling at the beginning, because i feel it will relax and attract the audience, which will make them enjoy my production more (hopefully!).

The First Entry

errr . . hi :)

My name is Amber Beattie, and i was doing the accelerated media GCSE, completing it in only one year, not two. I have been told to do my production diary online, on a blog. This is new for both me and the media department. I'm not sure if i like it or not, but i will know soon!

I am going to be updating this blog daily, writing about what i have been exploring and experimenting with, and how i have learnt.

So here we go!

Amber Beattie