exam practises

How far do the films you have studied for this topic offer an analysis of the social issues they present? 

The films i have studied, La Haine, Chungking Express and City of God all portray an analysis of the social issues that affect the cities and the characters that are presented in the film. In the opening of the City of God, we are presented with extreme close ups of a knife cutting and killing chickens. This can be seen as a representation of how life in the favelas in Rio De Janeiro, showing with the close ups that life is on a 'knife edge'. This illustration of the social issues analysis's how dangerous favelas are, where life expectancy for men is extremely low, due to crime and the gangs. Moreover, the fast, non-diegetic samba music, a stereotypical Brazilian sound, again points to how the problems and the social issues are typically Brazilian. However, the fast music could also be used to highlight how fast paced life in the favelas is, suggesting a key social issue is the lack of roots because no one can stop still in the favela, because, like the chicken, shown with the handheld, quickly cut shots; everyone is being chased.  This successfully analyses a key social issue that, in a sense, everyone is being hunted, whether it's from the gangs or the police; and that their is no escape from the favelas.

then i will expand on to saying how their is no escape etc etc........

Compare the challenges presented to the spectator by different experimental and expanded film/ video works. 

Spectators of experimental cinema are often challenged due to differences with it and the mainstream. The purely abstract Stellar by Stan Brakhage, challenged me as on first viewing it appears completely meaningly and had dismissed it as a purely aesthetic film.

How far can it be argued that your chosen films provide a 'realistic' representation of the people and places they focus on?

In City of God, it could be interpreted as being a very realistic interpretation of life in the favelas. When the tender trio rob the gas truck, we follow them running in long and mid shots, panning and following them with a hand held camera. This allows the audience to get a realistic snapshot of the beginnings of the favelas and the miss en scene. The simple houses are more open and theirs generally more space, suggesting their is more optimism in the community. Moreover, the houses appear identical and ordered, illustrating that crime was less of a problem, and the community was still under control. Moreover, the shots are longer, emphasising that their live expectancy was longer. This is a realistic interpretation of the time, as the housing projects were still relatively new, and the people still trusted the government and were hopeful of the city of god.

However, it could be argued that the film isn't realistic. When Shaggy sees Bernice, non-diegetic acoustic, romantic music starts to play, and the shot reverse shot of her being lit by a candle, uses a cliche sort of love at first sight theme, to break away from the realistic violence of the favelas. This could be seen as Shaggy escaping his life as a hood, however, Bernice's mother questioning him, brings him back to reality.

aims and context

Aims and Context

Short film

Intended to be shown at art house cinemas and film festivals

Influenced by John Smith's  "The girl chewing gum"

Influenced by french new wave directors like Truffaut

Use of hand held camera shots like Truffaut

Use of light to make abstraction like Wong Kar-wai and Stan Brakhage

Long takes

Playing with sound

Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that which spectators bring to their mainstream film going?

Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that which spectators bring to their mainstream film going? 

The films and video works of experimental filmmakers can often be seen as requiring their spectators to change the way they would normally view and watch a film, with the films needing to be analysed and watched multiple times for a meaning to be developed.

One of the first experimental films, Un Chien Andalou directed by Luis Bunuel lacks "any image that could have a rational meaning". The surrealist film combines two dreams Bunuel and Salvador Dali had, and created the associational film. The surrealist sensibility develops from the start, as we see a close up of an eye being cut with a razor, possibly suggesting we are blind to our subconscious, and that the film will help reveal this to us. This film requires a different type of spectatorship, as the audience has to create meaning from the irrational and dream logic of the film. This is different to mainstream films like Titanic, where they are purely narrative driven and allow for the audience to be passive in interpreting the film. Personally, i dislike Surrealism and Un Chien Andalou, as it's portrayal of dreams and the subconscious seems negative with the close ups of the severed hand, and rotting animal. Moreover, the high close up shot of the ants coming out of the hand would could be seen as a link to Freudian theory. The ants appearing out of the hand could be seen as something rotting on a subconscious level, or that something is eating away at them from within. For spectators to understand this, they would need a different attitude to than approaching a normal mainstream film. After i watch it multiple times, i figured out different meanings and researching the context and approach the filmmakers have to film helped me to understand Un Chien Andalou more and respect and appreciate it.

 Stan Brakhage's films like Stellar and the Prelude of his Dog Star Man series also require a different sort of spectatorship to mainstream films. In his 1961 film Prelude: Dog Star Man, Brakhage uses abstract forms of light and movement to create explosions of colour, with close ups of people and the earth. Moreover, he overlays images and uses film as a physical medium, scratching and tearing it. Prelude is a purely visual piece without any sound that allows the peculator to latch onto. This requires a different sort of spectatorship as it could easily be dismissed as a meaningless aesthetic. However, after watching it again and researching the film, i discovered things i didn't originally notice which helped me create a meaning. The film opens completely black and then as time progresses, light and colour flicker, getting faster and faster. This has been suggested as representing some sort of creation myth, with something appearing out of nothing, and eventually with extreme close ups of red and then of the women, life is created. This illustrates one way spectatorship changes for experimental films; the audience are left sometimes completely in the dark and are required to find out what they think the films meanings are. I like this about experimental films as it allows them to be me more personal, resulting in a spectator having more of a connection with a film.

How useful has a particular critical approach been to gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of your chosen film?

Fightclub, my chosen film, can be understood appreciated in a greater depth by understanding them through a Freudian analysis and by looking at the film as a Crisis of Masculinity.

The crisis of masculinity allowed the support group scene in particular, to be seen with a deeper meaning.  We see Edward Norton's character from a long shot, through a window with safety glass, walking up the stairs towards the support group. The glass, with the crosses through it, separates Norton, showing he is distanced from us, possibly suggesting his masculinity is suppressed. However, the safety glass could also allude to how the support groups help him. Additionally, the camera pans from the glass when he appears in front of the group. This suggests, here, with other emasculated men, he fits in, with the mid wide shot joining the group. The low key lighting implies they are hiding, ashamed at the sort of men they have become. As well as that, he places a name tag on him with a different name, showing he has lost his identity

presentation script

Presentation Script: Does the visual narrative style of Wes Anderson make him an auteur?

Projector: Show picture of Wes Anderson (item 15)

Speaker: In every film he has directed, Wes Anderson's particular visual narrative style has been loved and loathed. His detailed sets and shots, long panning takes and similar themes populate throughout his 7, soon to be 8, feature films. His "consistency of style and theme" (item 14) creates the argument for Anderson's auteurship, as his coherent style underlies all his productions. Paralleling the writing's of Francois Truffaut, Anderson imprints his work with his tastes and styles, allowing for the audience to easily recognise his films, allowing for his cult status to be established.

Anderson's films have been commented on their sense of heightened reality, often offering a "view of a world through young and immature eyes"(item 9).

Projector: Play 'Do you steal?' clip from Moonrise Kingdom

This scene from Moonrise Kingdom illustrates an unlikely childhood fantasy. Their physical escape from their families can be seen as an attempt at an escape from real life, a key idea explored throughout Anderson's catalogue of films. The two adolescents, both from dysfunctional families and backgrounds, another staple theme for Anderson, escape into their fantasies, and develop the unlikely perfected camp. Moreover, they represent a childhood innocence, not explicitly explored before in Anderson's films, who venture into a harmless, almost-protecting environment, and is something new and unexplored. Moreover, this sense of naivety persists through Anderson's films, represented in misguided "man-child"(item 6) characters, with a closed view of the world, or even ignorant perception of reality. Characters like Mr. Fox and Max Fischer present a naivety born out of a self-assured attitude, resulting in it being explored and tested until some form of reconciliation. This consistency of characterisation and theme suggests Anderson's auteur nature as his films explore the differences and similarities in people. With Moonrise Kingdom though, we see a different kind of naivety displayed. The visual narration's emphasis on fantasy elements can easily be interpreted as the dreams or exaggerated realities of a child's mind. And this is coherent throughout Anderson's filmography, with the films' main characters battling for their idealistic world, attempting to keep real life at bay. As a result, all of Anderson's films appear separate from our world, portraying his auteuristic qualities. 

This separateness that Anderson creates often results in his films being described as fantasy or fairytale like.  Commenting on the visual narrative style employed in Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson explains that he was  “deliberately wanting to make it feel like a sort of fable” (item 12) suggesting his films should be learnt from, or maybe we, as an audience, are witnessing a character learning or discovering another way. And this is true in all his films; in Rushmore, we see the alienated, controlling Max; discovering it is better to work with others, instead of doing everything alone. Anderson illustrates this with the visual narrative style separating and excluding Max. However in the final scene this changes.

Projector: Play ending scene of Rushmore

In the final scene, the camera pans to show Max and Rosemary going to dance with everyone he has hurt as a result of his selfishness. This illustrates some sort of reconciliation, a common and consistent theme in Anderson’s films, shown as Max physically returns to the group. As well as that, the wide shot allows for Max to melt into the group and almost become lost in them, showing he is no longer an outsider.

Moreover, Anderson's consistency continues in his cinematography.

Projector :  Play Item 7

Speaker: This short clip shows how overhead shots of hands in Anderson's films are a staple, appearing in all his films, even in the stop motion Fantastic Mr. Fox.  This could be seen as an aspect of him being an auteur, as the focus object always appears directly in the centre of the shot, with the character's hands bordering or revealing the object. This suggests that Anderson uses this shot as a key tool to reveal something about the character. This becomes more powerful and shocking when a character's hands are empty. For example, Richie’s in Royal Tenenbaums, are held open, possibly suggesting he is missing something or someone. This unusual change to an Anderson staple makes the scene much more dramatic to an audience familiar with Anderson's work. Adapting a key shot illustrates Anderson's meticulous nature and control over his work, two typical characteristics of an auteur.

Also, the cinematography appears almost symmetrical, with everything carefully planned and in it's place.

Projector: Play Suzy and Sam's first encounter from Moonrise Kingdom

The symmetry of the shots create a balance to his films, allowing for them to seem almost theatrical in nature, reminding the audience that this is a film. We pan from the Scout leader to Sam in one smooth motion, allowing the audience to witness the entire scene, allowing Anderson to immerse them in the characters' world. Also, the camera movement is often smooth and steady, and feels framed like a painting; when Sam walks past the waiting animals, we pan with him, with him appearing in the centre of the long, wide shot. These types of pans are used throughout Anderson's films, allowing him to show off the level of detail, engaging the audience and making the visual narrative more rich and engrossing. 

However, Anderson has used the same cinematographer, Robert Yeoman, in all his live action films, (item 10) suggesting perhaps that this coherent, recognisable cinematographic style is consequently due to Yeoman. This would support the view of William Goldman (item 13), arguing that it isn't solely directors who author films but is a collective work, and that corresponding links between films are not just from the directors, but are from all aspects of the production team. Furthermore he says that directors "must stand helpless alongside the crew and watch the actors work at their craft." implying  that directors have no control over their work, disregarding the auteur theory as fantasy. Contrastingly, Yeoman did not work on Fantastic Mr. Fox, yet there are similarities in shots between Mr. Fox, Rushmore and Moonrise Kingdom, arguing against Goldman's view that auteurs do not exist. Moreover, this emphasises Anderson's influence over his films, showing his cinematographic preferences proceed throughout.

While writing Fantastic Mr Fox, Anderson stayed at Roald Dahl's home (item 4) immersing himself in his world. Much of the mise en scene in Fantastic Mr Fox was inspired by Dahl's home, copying his furniture, and using the surrounding countryside as a basis for the setting..

 As well as that, Fantastic Mr. Fox shows key characteristics of Anderson's visual narrative style

Projector: Play 'Different' scene from Fantastic Mr Fox

The above clip illustrates several key principles of Anderson's style. Firstly, during wide shots, characters either appear directly in the centre or at either corner of the shot (item 9). Characters face towards the camera when they speak, as if on stage in a play; tying in to the play like structure of his films; with the story being told in chapters, with curtains opening each new 'chapter' (item 8). As well as that, during close ups, characters appear in the centre, but directly face the camera. In addition, characters in conflict or who oppose each other are normally separated by cuts. The editing separates Mr Fox and Ash, putting them in opposition.

Anderson also sets a “particular hue scheme” (item 9) to all his films, making consistent colours appear throughout, enabling him to portray a certain attitude or feeling the characters in the film share. For example, pale blue, yellow and green appear throughout Moonrise Kingdom

Projector: Play “Flew the Coop” clip from Moonrise Kingdom

The yellow of the Khaki Scout’s neckerchiefs, the green of the trees and the blue of the sky illustrates Anderson’s highly stylized tendencies, painting his shots in certain colours to create certain aesthetic properties that allow different emotions and feelings to be shown. The lush green that appears behind the boys appears untouched and has some purity aspects to it making it seem like an Eden perhaps. Moreover, the freshness of the green makes almost seem welcoming, possibly explaining why Sam and Suzy see it as a sort of sanctuary, where they can escape from the dull and dreary normality, illustrated by the beige, lacklustre uniforms. 

Overall, Wes Anderson’s consistent visual narrative style does make him an auteur. Throughout all his films, his imprint is clear, with similar themes and aesthetics populating his fantasy fairytales.  However, Anderson himself when asked if he is an auteur or he has a particular ‘style’, he explains how he tries to forget his style and just does what he feels is right.

Projector: Play Item 4 from 8:12 to 9:26

And maybe just doing what he likes is what makes him an auteur, as simply following his instincts has produced his distinctive visual narrative style.

Reflective Analysis

For our new wave inspired film, we decided to use Chungking Express as our influence, using similar cinematographic styles.  We used handheld shots throughout, creating a slight documentary style film to it, like in Chungking Express, but also added some stylised shots. I thought this worked well as we captured the ever moving life of the college, and portrayed it as one moving 'body' with the use of the smudge motion, blurring the people together, and taking their identity away which contrasted with the main character, like in Chungking. However, our film appeared greyer in palette, opposite to Chungking. We could have improved this by filming in better locations with more colourful settings; however I believe that the lack of colour added to the film, emphasizing the lack of excitement and perhaps the dullness of the setting, illustrating why he wanders the corridors for no particular reason. 

Moreover, I believe the lack of a narrative worked well too, highlighting the lethargic nature of the character; but also illustrating the isolation.  Moreover, the character tying the two pieces of broken metal in the fence, could be seen as showing his obsessive nature, a key element in Chungking Express. One thing I believe we could have improved on is the editing. We used effects and overlays in our urban story-inspired film, which could be seen as making it seem cheap and amateurish, as well as that, urban stories do not tend to use many effects, resulting in our film losing its documentary feel