As I Find Myself in a New Place - My Final Project Completed Idea

This is a brief outline of my project idea: 

My piece will be titled 'As I Find Myself in a New Place' and will focus on my experiences and emotions in a new surrounding and location. The piece is influenced mainly by the film diary that was set within the first week, which I mentioned previously in the blog and is a form of documenting my life through visuals, music and imagery. 

 I want the piece to represent different emotions that someone feels when they have a new experience that can be frightening and lonely but also intrigued and excited about their new surroundings. The film is my perspective of coming to a new place and calling it home. I hope that the audience can identify with this through what is presented on screen and their own experiences. 

The piece will be split into segments, the first being old Plymouth and what it used to be. I wanted to use this section as a contrast to the present day.

The second second segment is entitled 'Finding Beauty' and I wanted to use this chapter to get some interesting scenery and visuals to experiment with colour, light and make a piece that doesn't conform to traditional narrative.
The third segment will be called 'Filled with Emotion' and will reflect how I'm feeling, but also my connection with friends and how they are apart of my experience. The last segment will be known as 'A Walk' and this will be the exploration of Plymouth through Jump Cuts. 

Also previously mentioned in the blog was how I feel I was influenced and inspired by Filmmakers such as Jonas Mekas, and his idea of a visual journey and diary as well as Dziga Vertov with how he represents a specific environment. The idea of a visual journey is something I want to incorporate into my film. 

 I used a montage at the beginning of the piece with the footage of old Plymouth as I felt it fit with the style of creating a sequence that gives snippets of the past. I also used a jump cut in the last segment to give an overview of time passing. 

In terms of how it relates to representation, I created a piece that represents environments and myself which will hopefully convey meaning through the shots I took and used in the film. 

Collage Film

The second task set after the film diary was to make a collage film. In my collage film I wanted to create a piece that was styled on the culture of the 80's spanning over film, music, technology etc. As this is something I enjoy.  I thought it would be interesting to pick scenes and clips from my favourite 80's films and music and then contrast this with major events that took place in the decade such as Chernobyl, Mt. St. Helen's Eruption, Privatisation under Margaret Thatcher, Rioting etc. making these clips black and white to emphasise this fact.

I'm really interested in the culture of the 80's and when I think of the decade I think of the classic films and good music and it never  really occurred to me that there were some major events that took place in the 80's that are based around politics, war etc. and so wanted to implement this into the piece, with my overall goal representing a specific time in history using the good points and bad. I also thought this task was really good for me to try as I have limited experience in editing and this task really relied on editing that made the piece clash with constant change and abrupt cuts. 

This is a Diary Film

The above is my video diary that was a project set in the first week of the course. The video was a way of capturing experiences every day in a new place and documenting it as a timeline. The film was a way of representing myself, thoughts and personality through what I chose to film. A lot of my shots were taken by the sea as this was a place that I really enjoyed exploring in my first couple of weeks so I think the piece represents my personality.

Originally, I had used a track throughout my piece but then decided after the screening that the song didn't fit the piece well and I had really only put the song in the diary because one of my shots contained the same song and I wanted to fade that and then continue with the track, although it was interesting as a form of technique it didn't fit the mood of the piece. I feel that actually after removing the song, the video diary has a nice silence to it that reflects on the shots and that it's not always necessary to use music. 

I want my final film for the representation module in a way be very similar to the video diary, as I want my piece to explore the emotions I felt coming to a new place. 

Thoughts and Reflections on Lesson 5

Alternative Approaches to Filmic Representation - 12th October 

Set Readings: 

Bordwell, D., Thompson, K. (2013). Film art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, pp. 369 - 379.

E-flux.com. (2017). In Defense of the Poor Image (Steyerl) - Journal #10 November 2009 - e-flux. [E-kino.si. (2017). 

Incomplete Notes on the Character of the New Cinema | Kino! Revija za film in filmsko. INCITE Journal of Experimental Media. (2010). 

Jawa Manifesto. Issue Number Two.

Thoughts on readings: I found that reading the JAWA Manifesto and 'In Defense of the Poor Image'  surprised me as I didn't think of taking already made pieces of film, music etc. and then re-working them and using them in a different way was new, but really it is like creating a completely new piece of art and how through re-uploading, ripping and sharing files has made it easier to access films that you may never have been able to see, this creates connections through new experiences. The Experimental Film text was actually really inspiring and intriguing to read as I haven't really had any experience in watching or creating experimental pieces but I like the idea of challenging 'normal notions of what a movie can show and how it can show it' (Bordwell, D et al .2013) and even though my  final project may seem like it has a narrative or sort of timeline/storyling, I want to try and have a mixture of themes and techniques and want to experiment with shots I take. The text also discusses using 'colours, shapes, sizes and movements' which on reflection and after reading, it is something that I want to use in my film as it is a unique way of representing something.

Lecture: In the lectures discussion of the texts took place which I thought was extremely helpful because when reading the texts sometimes I didn't quite understand what was being said, especially when it's topics and terms I've never really talked about or heard of but talking about the texts made understanding much clearer.

In the lecture, we also looked at some different films that came under the 'Alternative Approaches to Filmic Representations' and how we are presenting a series of views to an audience (representation) something that we can identify with and try to construct meaning. 

Looked at:

• Man with a Movie Camera - Dziga Vertov 
• Kaleidoscope+A Colour Box+Colour Flight - Len Lye
•  Portrait of Ga - Margaret Tait 
• Jonas Mekas -  As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

I really enjoyed watching these pieces and experiencing new forms of film. What really stood out to me was the 'Man with a Movie Camera' with how the director through short shots was able to show representations of the city and the people, each shot told a story. I liked the way that in Len Lye's piece he experimented with colour and shape using individual frames creating something so unique. Jonas Mekas in particular really inspired me as his films are almost a visual diary, documenting all the things he sees with different segments and chapters and this is something I hope to achieve in my final film project. 

I am really enjoying learning about this style of film and how this can be just as interesting as a modern narrative film. It was also really interesting and helpful to see lecturers work in the session and being able to take inspiration from it. In the lecture, we were also set the task of creating a collage film, I was initially quite worried about this as I don't have any experience in creating such pieces but know that it will help me to develop my skills in editing. I decided to find clips that were based around 80's Culture as this was something I was interested in. 

Independent research: In class, 'Cut Up' technique was mentioned so as part of independent research I decided to look further into this. 

William Burroughs Cut up technique: Used as visual art, taking one piece of writing and then rearranging it to create something new. Performers and artists such as David Bowie and Kurt Cobain used to do this in order to create new lyrics. I like the idea that the technique is universal and can be used in different forms of art. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxIIgnC6bg0

I was really interested in looking at some more short experimental film pieces and through searching around I stumbled upon a piece called 'FilmStudie' by Hans Richter. The film involved still images placed underneath moving objects mostly geometrical shapes. The piece had engaging visual and a very haunting atmosphere.

As I had found inspiration from Jonas Mekas during the lecture I decided to look at some more of his work. On YoutTube I found 'A Walk' by Mekas and I thought it was engaging how he would discuss everything he saw, even the most mundane things because it was part of the environment and creating a visual image and it was similar to his other films where he was creating a diary and logging everything he saw but also talking about past memories, it was almost like he was vlogging. 

Ideas and development for project: When having this lecture I was definitely inspired by both Dziga Vertov's 'Man With a Movie Camera' and Jonas Mekas' 'As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty', more so Mekas' films and knew that this was something I wanted to convey in my piece. 

Mekas' piece is almost like a personal movie diary where he focuses a lot on his family, and in my film I want the focus not just to be on me and my experiences but my friends as it is a wider aspect of my life than just my experiences in a new place. My film has a sort of narrative in the sense it will be split in to segments and chapters similar to Mekas' work but still doesn't conform to the traditional storytelling methods, techniques and themes and I want to try and challenge that, just as it mentions in the 'Film Art' text. 

Bibliography:

Bordwell, D., Thompson, K. (2013). Film art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, pp. 369

Secabol. (2013). Filmstudie [1925] by Hans Richter [Online Video]. 27 November 2013

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Thoughts and Reflections on Lesson 4

Semiotics - 6th October 

Set reading:
Bignell, J. (2002) Media Semiotics: An Introduction. Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, pp. 190-202.
Chatman, S. (1980) ‘What Novels Can Do That Films Can't (And Vice Versa)’ in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 7, No. 1, On Narrative (Autumn, 1980), pp. 121-140.
Monaco, J. How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, and Beyond (4^th edn.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 171-245.
So is This (1982) Directed by Michael Snow [Film]. 

Thoughts on the reading: The texts were helpful in understanding terms that I'd never actually heard of before such as Trope, Diachronic,  Synecdoche etc. And how they use them in films to evoke emotions and meaning from their audience. It is something we can identify with, creating some form of representation through gender, environment etc. 

'So Is This' by Michael Snow at first was quite difficult to watch, I didn't get what the director was trying to present but then realised maybe that's part of the point, the film made you feel a lot of things such as frustration as you had to concentrate on reading at all times. I found that as it went on it was very funny and an interesting take on an image that you can picture as text-visual language that can create a story.

Lecture: In the lecture discussion took place around the set readings, I felt that discussing what we had to read made it easier to understand as did watching clips of films where the specific codes and signs were used. This made it clearer about how to for example implement sound into a piece or jump cuts where it almost looks natural (Interested in using some of these styles in my short film to emphasise the passing of time or a long journey)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgCejsyS0t8

As part of the lecture I analysed the opening sequence of 'The Shinning', examples found- Sound/Music:The music is quite low and eerie, it a foreshadow of what is to come. Shots: Diachronic, it is a montage a time as the car is on the journey. We don't know who the character is at this point so it's quite ominous. In doing this I found it was helpful in creating ideas for my own film and how the choices of using specific codes will impact the way the audience views it. 

Independent Research:

For my own research I decided to look at some other scenes in films and do the same analysis process as I did in class. 

The first scene I looked at was from 'The Royal Tenenbaums' - Wes Anderson. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAlbylCwKAk

 In this scene the jump cut is used:  Diachronic-there is a modification of time (Montage) Builds up the scene and quick cuts create an atmosphere for the audience. 

The shot is a close-up, POV: we are able to focus on the characters emotions. The scene focuses on the visuals and soundtrack: The music in this scene is really important as it reflects the mood of the character and depressive tone of the scene. Limited dialogue with the key line 'I'm going to kill myself tomorrow'- really shows the audience the symbolism and the magnitude of his decision. 

For further research I also decided to watch a YouTube Video- 'Semiotics: What We Don't See In Movies' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SIEnAXUC-k

The Video discussed the symbolism, themes and icons etc. The video focused on Stanley Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' and Ridley Scott's 'Alien'. Knowing that I'd actually seen these movies it was surprising to learn that I hadn't really picked up on certain themes that ran throughout the film. Doing a bit of extra research was helpful in getting my head around these new topics and terms such as Semiotics that I'd never heard actually heard of before. 



Ideas/Development for Project: I have officially decided to stick with my idea of creating another diary film similar to the first one but focusing more on the sights, locations and my feelings. I think it will feel quite narrative but with no real set story line. After having the Semiotics session I know that I would like to include the jump cut in my piece as I think it will fit really well with exploring the city and doing it in a speedy pace and will also demonstrate the technical aspects for the criteria. I also want to use music in my piece as with no dialogue I feel it relies more on the visual language, which is what I want but the music will help to convey the specific emotions I am feeling throughout the piece and set a tone. 

Bibliography: 

FilmInTheMaking.(2016). Semiotics: What We Don't See In Movies. [Online Video]

Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Directed by Wes Anderson [Film]. Los Angeles, California: Touchstone Pictures. 

The Shinning (1980) Directed by Stanley Kubrick [Film]. London:Warner Bros. 

Thoughts and Reflections on Lesson 3

Muses and Mirrors-5th October


Set Reading: 
 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema'-Laura Mulvey  
Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. pp.57-68.
Online Article on Amalia Ulman: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/photography/what-to-see/is-this-the-first-instagram-masterpiece/

Thoughts on the readings: The Laura Mulvey text was interesting to read about how women are represented in film as well as learning about the Male Gaze: "The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly"(Laura Mulvey, 1975) This led me to think about many films, especially those prominent in the classic Hollywood/Golden Age cinema. I thought about how women were part of framing and how often, women were used as more of an object to possess or use for visual pleasure, whereas men were seen more as a controller, has power, usually always the protagonist etc. 

When reading the Amalia Ulman online article, at first I didn't quite understand what she was doing or what the point of the images were as her images weren't really any different to how many others act on Instagram e.g. selfies/visual art and glamour shots. But after reading the article fully and reflecting, she as an artist proved some very interesting points: It's about how people choose to represent themselves to the outside world. Ulman suggests she was creating a character "I dyed my hair. I changed my wardrobe. I was acting: it wasn’t me.” (Ulman, 2016)

To me this seemed like a representation of some women in real life. When people, especially women come on to social media and they take pictures of themselves they're someone else, they're acting for everyone else and I think maybe presenting themselves in a sexualised way because of pressure as the media can often control how we feel about the way we look based on seeing unattainable looks of celebrities, airbrushing etc. Society and its people feel this is how they should look because of stereotypes and perhaps the influence of cinema and how maybe this has been a factor in the way women in particular present themselves. 

Lecture: The first lecture was centred around the Laura Mulvey reading, discussion on this and how Mulvey clearly states how women are used for the visual pleasure. Analysis of images of females in films also took place in the lecture. From most of the images we looked at it was clear that women were mostly represented in a sexual way e.g. skimpy clothing that would show off legs, exposing the neck showing vulnerability, the way women would be framed in a scene, never really central, used as more of an object. Reflecting on this, I thought of modern day film and how this is still common in some aspects e.g. Superhero films such as Wonder Woman and Black Widow, the woman are dressed in a certain way that shows off their bodies in a sexualised manner.

I paid particular attention to the image of the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho.' The female character is presented in an erotic way e.g. her posture, mouth open, naked which I think are key aspects in the representation of women in film. I think it was especially quite subtle in the way she was presented due to the time the movie was made but still visible. Looking at these images really opened my eyes to something that seemed quite normal that actually was designed that way specifically for a purpose by the Male Gaze. 

First Task: Create a sound piece for an image from Instagram. In this task my group and I used exterior sounds such as traffic to display the outside world and it's isolation. This helped me to understand how sound can influence how we feel about an image and the thoughts we can draw from what we experience. 

Second Task: Create a short film piece that incorporates Mulvey's text. My group and I created a piece that uses the female as a visual piece but as soon as a male is introduced into the scene, she becomes his visual pleasure and he also becomes the centre of the story whereas the female character is slightly out of frame. I wanted to demonstrate how a male dominates a scene. 

Independent Research: In terms of independent research I looked at different forms of media and the way they represent women in music and film. After searching around and looking at music videos it was clear that Mulvey's research and writing was still a factor in today's media. 

I first looked at the music video for Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU
This is song is a clear example of how women are represented in the media and particularly the music industry. The women in the music video are used for visual pleasure and are over sexualised, a prop and for the male performers to use and look which refers back to Mulvey's theories of the 'Male Gaze'. Even by decoding the lyrics in the song it's clear that the female is fetishized in the man's eyes as one of the lyrics states 'You're an animal' and 'That's why I'm gonna take you'. Even though Mulvey wrote her theory in 1975 it is obvious that these findings are still evident in modern society.

After reading the article based upon Amalia Ulman, I was interested in finding other articles and journals that discuss the way women are portrayed in media, looking more specifically at film, and how many films include a woman as a main role. I found an article on Variety that was a study on whether women were under-represented in film:   http://variety.com/2014/film/news/study-female-characters-under-represented-in-movies-1201129236/
 The article states "female characters are less likely than males to have identifiable goals or to be portrayed as leaders of any kind" (Variety, 2014) This again relates to Mulvey's theories as men are usually the main focus and women are usually used as a prop to motivate the male. Another article:
http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/baby-drivers-women-problem
 discussed this issue relating to the new film Baby Driver by Edgar Wright and how there are only three female characters and they are all used only as "driving forces for the male characters’ motivations." (K. Donaldson, 2017)

Ideas/Development for Project: I'm not really sure how I could implement the representation of women in my film so I will be sticking with my initial idea of an in-depth diary film that reflects my new experiences. In terms of development for my idea, my short film is going to be of my perspective of being in a new place. There will be a character on-screen exploring the different places around Plymouth and their feelings about being homesick and lonely. I want to explore my feelings an emotions through colour and landscapes.It will be similar to what we are trying to capture through the diary films as it really is more of visual diary of exploration and emotion through locations, colour, light etc. 

Bibliography: 

Donaldson, K. (2017). Baby Driver's Women Problem. Syfy Wire. 

  Littleton, C. (2014). Study: Female Characters Under Represented in Movies. Variety. 

Robin Thicke. (2013). Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell [Online Video] 20 March 2013. Available From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU

Sooke, A. (2016). Is this the first Instagram masterpiece?. The Telegraph.

'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema'-Laura Mulvey  

Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. pp.57-68.

Thoughts and Reflections on Lesson 2

Calling The Shot - 29th September 


Lecture: In the lecture there was a showing of the short film 'Girl With The Yellow Stockings.' 

The film explored subtext, had minimal script and was more based around the actions of the characters. It was interesting to watch how a story line could unfold from the characters behaviour towards each other. Themes of abuse and control were evident and the representation was clear as it explored these issues. Watching the film was helpful in understanding how to use subtext within a film that gives meaning that the audience can decode. 

Camera Workshop: Doing the camera workshop was an opportunity to develop skills e.g. framing for film, how to present the shots so that they have meaning and can show the audience parts of the story without actually having to tell them through dialogue. 

Set task (Diary Film): A couple of weeks before, the class was set the task of creating a diary film that consists of 1-5 second shots taken everyday and then compiled in to a short film. 

Ideas/Development for final project: Thinking about the diary film task that was set, I'm set on the idea of creating another diary film for my final project. I want my final project to have more depth to it where I can explore the different techniques and themes that I will learn throughout lectures. I want to create a diary film that is a lot more personal than the first task. I want it to document my experiences and sights in a visual way. 

Thoughts and Reflections on Lesson 1

Director's Gaze- 28th September 

Before the first session the set reading was: "Lars Von Trier" 

 Badley, L. (2010). Lars Von Trier. University of Illinois Press, pp. 155-179

 Thoughts on the reading: Having never heard of this director before it was intriguing to read his stylistic approaches to film through the use of specific rules he has set out. Von Trier invented something called  'Automavision'. 

In the article Von Trier mentions  "When I film I put up the [fixed] camera, I make the shot that I want, and then I press the button on the computer, and that gives us 8 or 9 offsets." (Von Trier, 2010) 

Automavision sounds like an interesting concept as by limiting human interaction you have a completely unique piece that is from a different perspective and maybe a new form of representation. From reading the article it was clear That Von Trier is inspired by other directors and films e.g. for 'The Kingdom' he was heavily inspired by David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks' and Japanese horror films. He designs pieces based on previous representations and ideas. It's Interesting to see how ideas are developed and maybe I could find inspiration from the films I have watched when creating my final project. 

Von Trier often creates pieces of work that represent his perspective on things without actually experiencing them as he has made various films based in the US e.g. Dogville and Manderlay (US Trilogy) based around a small American village. 

The director states that he has never been to America. So my thought on this is that he creates representation based on his own views and perceptions of that country and their society, ideals etc. 

 Lecture: The lecture was based around learning different techniques in order to make sure an actors performance is believable (a physical and emotional journey). By doing this a story and character is represented in the most natural way, I think that the techniques mentioned are all important aspects of directing actors. 

• Subtext 
• Point of Change 
• Four Levels of "Wanting"

We also watched a documentary: 'Ten Meter Tower.' To me the film  seemed like an exploration of subtext and the people participating overcoming their fear and and making a decision in a natural environment where their emotions are real and in the moment. The film creates an honest representation. It also seems like an engaging way to present these emotions. 

Workshop: In the workshop we were shown the use of manipulation in Directing and how it is effective in getting a natural performance from your actors. After watching a demonstration it seemed like a difficult to thing to do. It was obvious how the manipulation created a realistic performance that the actor believes is motivated but I think I would find it quite difficult if I attempted to use it in one of my projects. 

My Project ideas: This is section of the blog will cover my ideas for the final film project of representation. So, in terms of ideas so far I think I will try to create a realistic piece based on other people's perspectives of something to get a realistic representation of life. Maybe my own perspective vs. someone else's? I will stick with this idea for now but will think more about other ideas I can come up with.

Bibliography: 

Lars Von Trier, 2010

Badley, L. (2010). Lars Von Trier. University of Illinois Press, pp. 159.