Four Hour Film Challenge - Lacan

Contextual Studies: Czech New Wave

Blog Post with full details, references and script:

https://sophiecullhnccreativemedia.blogspot.com/2018/10/czech-new-wave.html

Personally, I think this is one of the best videos I have made. The video not only is informative as required, but ironically has a new-wave twist in the way the information is presented. This wasn't initially intended and I was actually inspired by videos I watch in my own time, but I think that worked tot my benefit because it made me more focused and inspired continuously through the project.

Four Hour Film Challenge - New Wave

For my new wave video, I was heavily influenced by themes like identity and conformation which are commonly seen in Czech New Wave. I represented this through my style of editing, in which i layered portrait film on top of landscape film; however I tried my best to line up the shots so that it looked like the same area (even though they were filmed in separate locations). I was inspired to do this technique from a particular clip from 'Daisies' when the two Maries chase each other and the screen looks as though parts were cut up and layered on each other. In the film's representation, it shows the chaotic nature of the girls and even the dissociation they have from society; and the rules they have to follow. This dissociation is what i intended to show in my film. By physically removing the subject from the location, i've removed them from the society surrounding them.

I also added some coloured filters to snippets of the background layer. This was mainly again to represent czech new wave and the coloured filters seen in 'Daisies' which was used to show the more obscure behaviour rather than exclusivity. I mainly used it however to again add a layer or form of expulsion from society; it can even be symbolic of how the subject could feel like a glitch.

Four Hour Film Challenge - Music Video

Contextual Studies: Research and Script

References/Research:

YouTube (2018) [online] available at: www.youtube.com (accessed 03/10/18)  

YouTube (2018) [online] available at: www.youtube.com (accessed 13/10/18)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NVf-ag6bJw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep_isfO8Xfs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_New_Wave
http://www.newwavefilm.com/international/czech-new-wave.shtml
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/czech-new-wave-movie-era/
https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/870-eclipse-series-32-pearls-of-the-czech-new-wave
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Spring
https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/256941-the-joke/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joke_(film)
https://criterioncast.com/column/a-journey-through-the-eclipse-series/a-journey-through-the-eclipse-series-jaromil-jires-the-joke
http://greyfrankfilm.blogspot.com/2007/02/jaromil-jires-joke-1969.html

Peter Hames (2005) The Czechoslovak New Wave Second Edition. London: Wallflower Press

Editing inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSdrbcBQVTs&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzqZgUctlaA

Script:

Hello everybody! In today's film were going to discuss the czech new wave. Now you may be asking, sophie, what is czech new wave? Well listen here kids, and I will teach you what you need to know.

Czech New Wave in two words could be described as political and artistic. In the 1960s, the Czechs were under heavy soviet law, which left many people struggling to express themselves. A group of avengarte artists decided to create films with this in mind to showcase people the system of oppression they were living in. The films were rather a form of expressionism in majority, with only a few having narrative and having a heavy theme of poeticism. Many of the directors even led on to graduate from FAMU (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague).

Daisies, the third film by notorious director Vera Chytilova, is akey film in the Czech New Wave. The 1966 avant garde 'comedy' shows two girls boht named Marie living in a male dominated, communist society. The two girls, after having an epiphany decide to play a game of 'it doesn't matter/it matters'; causing them into bounds of mischief and illustrates the dangers of boredom. The lack of clear narrative and vacuum like space they live in suggests days blending into one another and the overall bleak life they have.

The film is a feminist one, and more so explores the idea that society expects women to act one way rather than another. This was a realistic expectation, not only in the 1960s but years before and after globally. An example of this particular ideology could be a comparison between the two Maries' drunken behaviour vs a behaviour seen in a Charlie Chaplin film years before.
[comparison clips]
Both act in oversized gestures with the people surrounding them frowning, but the outside world reaction was different to both; with Charlie's films being seen as comedies and eventually leading him on to having a famously large career whereas Vera's film eventually got banned. But you may be asking, why did it get banned? Well let's see the highly controversial scene that is labelled as the main reason for it being banned.

[insert clip of food fight]

Now do you see why it was banned? According to the government, this food fight scene was the most offensive due to the amount of food wasted. The scene overall was meant to be an attack on the established order, opulence, good taste and good manners; it was more likely the anarchist actions of the females more than a squashed cake. Vera even added an end slate to her film dedicating to those 'who get upset only over a stomped upon bed of lettuce' rather than the real injustice happening in her country. The film as previously discussed shows this rebellion through editing styles also like the use of montages, layering of films and colour effects; it doesn't look like a traditional film, as the girls do not act like traditional women. But as the famous quote states 'well behaved women seldom make history'.

Milos Forman's 1967 film 'The Firemen's Ball' is a comedy about a fireman committee trying to organise the annual ball. They try to make an amusing, happy evening for everyone but things turn out catastrophic in the end; in a way Forman describes as a 'vision of what's going on in the world today'/ The film is more radical than his others, with its social criticism being more metaphorical.

The film uses it's comedy stylism to showcase Forman's negative views of the czech government. He does this by using examples from silent films with the scene with the ladder and inspiration from the cinéma vértité movement with scenes like the pageant line up. One of the firemen messes the original plan up and instead pulls a woman from the crowd last minute; this improvisation and quick thinking is one of the more common comedy elements in this film. The scene where the firemen try to collect all the missing lottery prizes in a hurried and poor manner is a perfect example of this.
[insert clip of lottery]
'Corruption, Incompetence and a lack of Compassion'; these are the key themes portrayed by the Firemen in this film. Corruption is seen where their intentions for a pageant turn into a sexual fantasy as they get they try to get the girls to perform in bikinis. This ultimately fails and begins the catastrophic events mentioned earlier when the girls all run into the bathroom and refuse to perform. This leads into the Incompetence and lack of compassion where the rest of the firemen slowly lose patience and ideas of what to do. More specific examples of this are seen when none of the firemen know how to put the fire out in the hall, and are too old to manually put out the fire with snow at the burning house. Their lack of compassion throughout is arguable as they are determined to throw a good event, but their actions are poor. As previously mentioned their actions towards women are rude and earlier on they even say they should have given the retired officers gift the year before instead of now as he is dying. Though nothing is directly tied to events in Czechoslovakia of that time, the narrow minded vision and small compassion is something Forman was inspired by from the government and which he openly talks about, much like other directors of that time.
Yet this strictness was key for his earlier films, so the question is was it somewhat useful? Not to Forman, who would eventually move to the US like other Czech citizens to live a much more successful career.

Based on the novel of the same name, The Joke by Jaromil Jireš is the darkest film I will be discussing today. The Joke tells the story of Ludvík Jahn, a man who seeks revenge after being expelled from the Czechoslovak Communist Party for an idle joke to his then girlfriend. The revenge he seeks through adultery as he pursues his former friends wife. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968 Prague Spring and contains numerous scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership.
The main character's fixation on the past is another key element of the film, and more so drives the visual characteristics and narrative of the film. The beginning uses multiple juxtaposing shots to show Ludviík's obsession with the past; the past scenes are shown from P.O.V (point of view) shots whilst his reaction shots are set back in the present. Though these shots are set in different times, the editing projects the past into the present, much like Ludvík whose main narrative and mission is derivative of the past. He only wishes to bed Helena because of his past, and not for romantic intent. Similarly in the the finale of the film, a youth who was in love with Helena confronts Ludvik for hurting her; but as Ludvík defends and beats the boy he exclaims "it was not you who I wanted to beat up!". The film then abruptly ends. There is no resolution nor climax from the building tension and action throughout the film, ultimately making all or most of Ludvík's actions pointless. It almost makes Ludvík a memento mormi in the sense that he is the only person to care about his past and he is the only one who feels the pain from it; he is displaced in the mixed time editing and his fixation on the past is irrelevant to the livelihoods of people now. I think this was meant to be representative of how Jireš attempted to understand the mindset of people in that time, and even the human cost; everyone has moved on but Ludvík in a way like the youth have grown up only knowing one communist government rather than a constant war like the older citizens of Czechoslovakia. This even adds a sense of incidental verisimilitude as the film was unironically banned during the years of normalisation in the country; as though they wanted to move on without being too attached to the past, like Ludvík's 'friends'.
However, the film is not totally perfect and even comes across as misogynistic. The character Helena and her use throughout the film is the prime example of this. She is naïve and romantic, and more so is subjected to illusions of revolution and idealistic men. She is used only as a prop by Ludvík who uses her for revenge, beats her and forces her to undress. Similarly, Pavel's Girlfriend, Markéta, is only used for material acquisition. Neither of the women have strong roles, and are seen nothing more than 'bragging rights'. It could be argued this was the mindset of men in the 1970s and before, but when films like this were meant to argue the system of oppression it is questionable to the necessary reasons to why this was needed or portrayed.
Nevertheless, the film's particular underlying narrative laid way for films after it and more so discussed issues only a few films before have. It also no doubt gave confidence to directors after like Chytilova who created the iconic feminist movie, so all is forgiven, for now.

Well there you have it. I hope you found this video educational and useful! Overall I think we can agree the directors and artists were very influential and critical to cinema today, and more so have redefined what it means to break boundaries. I hope you walk away having learnt something new, and perhaps even with more confidence to show your views through film. Goodbye and don't forget!
[insert outro clip]

Media Basics: Lighting Examples

Butterfly lighting is essentially having the whole face evenly distributed in light. This can be done by having either one light straight ahead of the subject or having two lights at a 45 degree angle from the subject. Sometimes when using this type of lighting outdoors it can be better to use a diffuser to evenly spread the light across. In my example I used two lights, and you can clearly see even with motion her face is always covered.



Rembrandt is the goal of having half of the face lit whilst having small triangle present under the unlit halves eye. This is done by having the light at roughly a 45 degree angle from the subject, at a high angle whilst slightly tilted down; the subject may even be positioned to face slightly away from the camera. In my example, the rembrandt is very faint; i could have fixed this by changing the brightness of the light (to make a stronger contrast) or moved the model to have a more distinct triangle/separation.



Split Lighting is what I find to be the easiest light to manipulate as it literally means splitting the distribution of light; having half the subject in light and the other dark. This is done by having a singular light on one side of the subject with (usually) having the subject facing forwards straight into the camera. In my example the contrast isn't as strong as I would have prefered it, but you can see a line straight down the subjects face diving the light.



For my last example I wanted to show an alternative way to use lighting; for this I attempted to light up just the bottom of the subject's face by having the light source directly under the subject's face. Visually it makes the top portion the the subject's face darker (like their hair) and their shoulders/features deeper into her face darker. If done correctly it can make the subject look very menacing, however mine is slightly over exposed as a strong contrast isn't very prominent.

Four Hour Film Challenge - Unusual Pespectives

As a class we watched the sequence twice, to which (thankfully) everyone found funny. As a general, we primarily got praise on the variety of shots and pacing used which enabled us to create a character out of an inanimate object without the use of mass props; Though we were asked if there was opportunity to use more props or different backdrops. However, in my opinion, I think using little to no official props makes the video as a whole funnier because it looks more like a parody that making a backdrop which could have distracted attention from the eggs.
In terms of editing, the only critic we got given was that more titles could have been used to make it more punny and look more like a movie trailer than just a sequence of shots. Similarly, the sequence was very short so it left me personally more to be desired; I wish we had filmed more to be able to create a longer trailer and possibly even more references to the movie our inspiration came from. Although one of our critics was that we could have been more original and created a narrative from scratch rather base it on a preexisting trailer dialogue; but because it was intended to be a parody I don't fully think this comment was relevant.

Four Hour Film Challenge - Birmingham

For this assignment, I chose the theme of 'unusual perspectives', but I also included 'citylife' to add some almost understanding/background to my protagonist; whilst my video doesn't have a narrative per say, I think there is some defining characteristics presented.

I wanted the main idea from this to be the feeling of curiosity or even challenging the human 'agenda', so my protagonist goes to numerous locations (as shown with her walking and looking around) but only finds satisfaction in animals. This is the main reason why the only shot of her smiling is at the aquarium, and more so that the shots at the aquarium are much slower than those of the ones outdoors/places with heavy artistic influence. Even the contrast in colours with the strong blue against the reds and greys on the buildings I think are even more intriguing.

My main issues when filming were the inability to use a tripod and the weather. Locations like the sea life centre or museums do not permit the use of tripods for safety reasons, so I found it difficult to shoot steady shots which increased the amount of time I spent in Birmingham shooting; this creates another series of problems as the natural lighting becomes slightly darker due to the day passing. The stabilization issue also had more effect when adding a warp stabilizer to my clips which (as seen) makes the shots very 'choppy', even when I altered the amount and type of stabilization.

However, besides that I did not have any issues when it came to editing. I increased and decreased the speed on some clips to represent the world passing the subject by in shots like the shark (0:51) becoming slightly slower to show how infatuated she is, but not so much that it becomes unnatural to watch.

Contextual Studies: Easy Rider (1969)

This extract from the film Easy Rider is a peak example of both drug use in the 70s and an example of 'french new wave'; this film is considered to be one of the many that 'helped spark the New Hollywood Era of filmmaking during the early 1970s' (Wikipedia, 2018).

The clip starts with two gentlemen (Billy & Wyatt, played by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda) encouraging two prostitutes to take LSD in a graveyard. The four shot is a wide shot, but all the characters sit comfortably close together. The lighting is ambient, but slightly dark due to being sat in the shade; the scene just looks like a normal/average scenario that would have been seen in the 70s. This is even more exemplified with the rusted/damaged building behind them. Same goes for the machinery that could be heard in the background, its diegetic and adds a sense of verisimilitude.

A montage sequence begins signifying the effects of the LSD, with quick cuts to a woman reading scripture juxtaposing one of the prostitutes stripping. This cross cutting technique could be not only significant of their location but also even the metaphorical representation of what Hollywood seems like vs what it actually is; the heavenly views and perfect lifestyle vs the drug ridden, "broken dream" reality.

I think having juxtaposing images and sounds here could also be the conflict within the two protagonist's minds. Having the woman reading scripture and then also having one of the males saying "shut up" and (what sounds like) crying could show his struggle of identity; it could suggest how he would rather cast Blasphemy rather than consider the drugs to be a problem. Similarly with the nude shots of the women on tombstones or hiding between pillars, it could even suggest a struggle with his sexuality; almost playing on the idea of Adam and Eve in God's Garden of Eden. Whilst visually we would assume he is heterosexual, the fact it is in a church with cross cuts and jump cuts to the sun and the trees, it could mean God is watching him so he leans into women but distracts himself with drugs.

If we listen closer to the scripture, we hear lines like "Virgin Mary" or "he descended into hell" with the crosscuts of the prostitutes removing their clothes being more prominent. Again it's blasphemous what they're all doing but it almost feels like his actions are more directed at God; as though he is rebelling. Even in the finally shots, one of the main protagonists is sat on a society tomb which holds numerous family tombs and vaults. It could show his struggle to fit in or alternatively acceptance of God as he lays in the arms of the statue (which i'm assuming is a religious figure).

Media Basics: The History of Editing

Editing is one of, if not the most important aspects when it comes to filmmaking. It can either let you transform your clips into another genre or simply let you make something coherent (or in some case incoherent). Pre 1900s, film makers would have to film scenes in order of appearance (in one take) as they had to use the raw footage as their final product.

When it comes to significant impact on editing style and techniques, 3 lead figures arise: Lev Kuleshov, David Griffiths and Sergei Eisenstein.

Lev Kuleshov:

"The Kuleshov effect is a film editing (montage) effect demonstrated by Soviet film-maker Lev Kuleshov in the 1910s and 1920s. It is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation"

Kuleshov believes that the construction of film is pinnacle in order for a film to be deemed successful, with a major focus on editing; he believed the relationship between two shots visually was more important than the actual dialogue or context (as exampled above). By interchanging what the character was looking at through editing, he was able to change the persona of the character shot and therefore the meaning of the extract.

David Griffiths:

"One of Griffith’s first inventions was the “cut-in” first used in “The Greaser’s Gauntlet” in 1908 - just four months after his first film for Biograph...With multiple camera setups being used, the 180 degree rule evolved out of practice"

D.W.Griffiths is known for his impact within Narrative based editing, and is known to have 'created' parallel editing. This is used in many modern films and is where there is an alteration of two or more scenes that are happening simultaneously but in different locations; It more often than not ends up with the two parties meeting each other in a singular location.

He the adapted parallel editing by introducing 180 degree rule: a cinematography guideline where the characters are standing opposite to each other to help bring structure and familiarity to the scene, for the viewer. 

Sergei Eisenstein:

"Eisenstein was a pioneer in the use of montage, a specific use of film editing. He and his contemporary Lev Kuleshov, two of the earliest film theorists, argued that montage was the essence of the cinema"

Eisenstein believed that montages were a way to create meaning for a scene and also show a progress of time. He was also a student of Kuleshov, however they went separate ways due to conflicting opinions; Eisenstein suggested that montage is "the nerve of cinema", and that "to determine the nature of montage is to solve the specific problem of cinema"

Sources:

https://www.slideshare.net/stefan-constantinou/history-and-development-of-editing-14850912

https://nofilmschool.com/Kuleshov-effect-definition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuleshov_effect

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/kuleshov-effect-examples/
https://seanmaguireblog.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/early-history-of-editing-techniques/
https://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/d-w-griffith-continuity-editing/https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/4-iconic-editing-techniques/
http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/parallel-editing/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._W._Griffith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Eisenstein
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_montage_theory

Media Basics: Shutter Speed

"Shutter Speed is the length of time your camera shutter is open, exposing light onto the camera sensor. Essentially, it's how long your camera spends taking a photo" (Photography Life, 2018). So in theory, you would need to use a higher shutter speed when shooting in a high lit area, and a lower one in a more low light area. This also means you would have to change your ISO to suit your shutter speed to correctly expose the image.

As exampled below, the different shutter speeds specifically refers to the amount of time an individual frame is exposed for; this is not the same as frame rate which is the number of individual frames that create each second of video you record (aka FPS). As a general however, when choosing settings to film in, the denominator of the shutter speed should be roughly double the amount of frames per second.

As we can see, there is a noticeable difference in the overall definition of the water. With the first video (slower shutter speed) the water is more smooth and harsh with the way it comes out; whereas with the second video we can see the the droplets come out as well as the general flow of the water clearer.

Reference list:

Photography Life (2018) [online] Available from: https://photographylife.com (Accessed 17/09/2018)

Media Basics: ISO

"ISO is simply a camera setting that will brighten or darken a photo" (Photography Life, 2018); Basically the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive to light. So in theory, at night you would use a higher ISO than daytime; however, the main visual fault from using a high ISO at night is the inclusion of grain.

In this video I tried to exemplify this with correctly exposing my images with using an ISO of 100 - 200. I think to be able to get coloured details like the trees or brick it is important to be correctly exposed, or the colours won't be as prominent; similarly im glad I kept my white balance on auto because the green could have looked almost abnormal had I tampered with it.
In the last couple of clips I purposefully over and under exposed; in moderation, this technique can manipulate natural light without physically tampering the environment. I wanted a more heavenly appearance so i made the light around my subject over exposed by setting my ISO to slightly higher than the shot previously. I also focused my camera on the surrounding behind her to make sure it was that area that would be over exposed.

During my filming, probably due to other factors (like my Aperture), my ISO wasn't that varied. A minimal difference is noticeable with the amount of grain and even the mild 'hum lines' that can be seen on a larger screen. You can also see less colour in/on the subject's hair or the brick wall besides them because it is so dark with a lower ISO.

Having less light coming in when filming can also relate problems in correlation to focus because as suggested it's harder to see; it also removes detail from surrounding areas as seen with the brick wall because of the mass amount of grain. A standard way to fix this would be using external light, but alternatively I could have also perhaps used a wider Aperture.

Reference list:

Photography Life (2018) [online] Available from: https://photographylife.com (Accessed 17/09/2018)

Media Basics: Reference Listing

Books

Quote:

In his own words, Jørgen Leth (Goldsmith, 2002, pg.06) said “The Perfect Human was inspired by the world of advertising”

Reference:

David A Goldsmith (2002) The Documentary Makers. Hove: RotoVision

Journals/Website/Articles

 Quote:

One of the “most notable figures” in French Film  is Jean-Luc Godard (Culture Trip, 2016)

New Wave is “the style of a number of highly individualistic French film directors of the late 1950s” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018)

Reference List:

Culture Trip (2016). [online] Available from: https://theculturetrip.com (Accessed 14 September 2018)

Encyclopaedia Britannica (2018). [online] Available from: https://www.britannica.com (Accessed 14 September 2018)