Monday, 14 January 2013

FM3 Film Blog

Your blog for your film should include:

a pitch (which can be a video) and/or synopsis. You should include - title; genre; location; time; characters; plot outline; conflict; key micro features that you intend to incorporate; target audience and audience appeal (what is the unique selling point of your film?
a drawn or photographed storyboard including
the final film (you can include earlier 'rough' cuts of the film to show progression)
audience feedback
your 1,000 word Reflective Analysis, which can be typed with screenshots or a 'director's commentary' with screenshots and video from the film.

The reflective analysis should be approximately 1000 words (or equivalent).

You should give the title, genre and a short synopsis of your film. Next, you should explain what your aims were before you started making it, particularly in terms of film language (micro features - camerawork, editing, sound, mise-en-scene). You also need to explain your role if you were in a group.

The reflective analysis should select key micro features of the sequence and demonstrate how they make meaning(s) and aim to provoke response(s) in audiences. You can refer to influential films and techniques you have encountered when watching and studying film. You should use some audience feedback to assess how successfully you have been in creating meanings.

The analysis will be presented in a digital form such as a blog. You may type your reflective analysis and add it to your blog with screenshots from the film, or you can record a 'director's commentary' and edit it over screenshots and video from your film and upload it to the blog.

Here is quite a good example although it's a little long. This could have been improved by adding feedback:

Reflective Analysis
My film ‘Gamer’s Thoughts’, is a short drama film which I wanted people to interpret it in their own way. The film is about a boy named James who is pressured into holding on to a real gun that his friend has obtained. Stubbornly James agrees to this and stores it in his pocket. He arrives home and goes to his room to play on his games console. After time passes he gets angry at the game because he is losing and we are taken inside his mind. Inside we see newspaper headlines and bold violent words which get faster and faster until we are taken out of his mind and he then as a result takes his own life with the weapon.

I started this project with an issue that I always had on my mind, this issue being about media violence through computer or console gaming and how it is portrayed by the media. Once I decided on this theme, I based my film around the issue. As someone who has enjoyed playing console games all their life I inspired myself to make this film because I feel the way gaming is represented is far too negative. Every time I read about someone committing a robbery, assault or something as serious as a murder, the first thing I would notice is that the media automatically try to start pushing the blame on to music lyrics and the electronic games the perpetrator has played. This occurs frequently and almost seems like gaming alone is becoming a scapegoat for people’s aggression and blame of tragic events. I really wanted to get people thinking about whether it really is the violent games we play or the music we listen to that causes us to suddenly want to go out and commit a serious crime or take our own life, or is it solely just the media over-emphasising things and then causing a moral panic in society? During planning stages I thought carefully about how I wanted the film to be heavily based around meanings rather than story. I wanted people to actually question their own thoughts or someone else’s about the given issue. I also wanted to emphasise how serious this issue is with the character actually committing suicide at the end.

Camerawork
Camerawork played an important role in my film. At the start of the film it almost seems like we are following the character on a small journey until he reaches his home. Throughout the film recording I did not use a tripod as I felt that it would give the audience an uneasy feeling if the camera was a little more unsteady. This allowed people to connect to the character because the character is feeling uneasy himself after retrieving the weapon from his friend. Keeping to the theme of feeling uneasy I used canted angles which also emphasised the character's unsteady feeling. I used low angle-shots to show the character walking and to show that he is tired when he gets home (shown when he goes into his bedroom and lets out a sigh of relief as he sits down). I also used close-ups on the character's face to show his emotions and how he may be feeling. My most successful part of camerawork was the long take where we follow the character from when he takes the weapon out of his pocket all the way to him committing suicide. The camera starts by framing the character's face after he slams against the wardrobe, you are given a short amount of time to study the character's emotions and how he is feeling at that moment. The camera then lowers down to his pocket in which you witness the gun being pulled out, the camera really emphasises that the gun is in his hand through an extreme close up. The camera then does a mini arc and the gun leaves the frame. I wanted the audience to be more concerned about the character's emotions rather than the gun. The camera then rises back up to the character's face then tilts and the audience begin connecting with the character again. At the moment of connection between audience and character, the gun is unexpectedly and rapidly returned to the frame and shockingly the character shoots himself.

Editing
When it came to editing the film I had to make sure that I created meaning and made sure people didn’t lose track of what was actually happening during the film. The most significant parts of editing in my film definitely had to be the constant flickering of a gaming controller that gradually got faster as the character made his way to his bedroom. This showed what the character was thinking of doing when he actually got to his room. I also felt that the editing of being inside the character's mind was successful because i used a red colour palette and I felt this represented the characters angry emotions at the time. Also the way the words progressively sped up showed how the character had started becoming more aggressive. The third significant part of editing in the film was the suicide at the end. The film does have quite a slow pace to it and I ensured this was the case all the way up until the point where the character commits suicide. When this happened I made a hard cut to black and edited the sound effects of a gunshot and violent drop of a body hitting the floor. This really created a hard shock to the audience.

Sound
Sound was extremely important when it came to making my film. I actually decided during the making process of the film that I would completely rule out any form of communication between the character and any other person, giving the impression of being lonely and being bottled up with emotions. The only time we hear the character speak is when he gets angered by the game he is playing and shouts at the screen “Just die!”, which is a hint at what might be coming and is also quite a violent and dark thing to say. The fact that the film has a silent feel to it throughout also allows the audience to reflect on how the character might be feeling as they watch. The main reason for the silent feel to the film is that it gives more impact to the sudden ending where the character commits suicide. The gun shot was made to be loud and thundering so that it really startled the audience and shocked them in horror, almost as if it is lifting them out of the sombre mood of thoughts they are having while they watch.

Mise-en-scene
I carefully thought about the overall look of the film when it came to misc-en-scene, I really wanted to emphasise how normal the boy's life was. He lives on a nice street, in a nice house, has nice clothes and does not seem to have any family concerns with money. Even when we see his bedroom we are shown the walls which are a positive blue along with shelves holding model cars, computers etc. It is clear to the audience that money is not a concern to the character. The fact also that the room is so bright and enlightening also makes the character's death so much more tragic to the audience. I did also run into problems with continuity, as the bedroom was changed around between shoots. I got around this problem by using close-ups which did not show his surroundings.
(Word count: 1263)

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

FM2 Exam questions - common question areas for the focus films

Narrative - You can use Todorov, Levi-Straus and Propp to deal with a question on narrative. Also the following will help you to respond. (You don't want to simply tell the examiner what happens in the story. You want to explain how the story is structured and fits in with narrative theories.)

What is Narrative Structure? Narrative structure is really about two things: the content of a story (i.e. what a story is about) and the form used to tell a story (i.e. how a story is told). Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative structure are: story and plot.

Story refers to the raw materials of dramatic action as they might be described in chronological order in a film. Plot refers to the form of storytelling, or the structure, the story follows. An example may be helpful.

If we want to analyze narrative structure, we can use Who? What? and Where? questions to look at the story or content of a movie. ‘How?’ questions are used to examine plot structure. So, to describe the story in Star Wars, for example, we would need to answer the following questions:

· Where is the story set?

· What event begins the story?

· Who are the main characters?

· What conflict(s) do they face? (What motivates them to behave the way they do?)

· What happens to the characters as they face this conflict?

· Who wins the conflict?

· What rewards do they receive?

To describe the plot structure of the movie, we would need to answer these questions:

· How is the major conflict in the story set up?

· How are the main characters introduced?

· How is the story moved along so that the characters must inevitably face the film’s central conflict?

· How is the dramatic confrontation set up as the film draws to its close?

· How does the film resolve most of the major conflicts set up at the outset?

From the audiences’ perspective, story and plot refer to the different ways movies construct meaning for spectators. Story is about trying to determine the key conflicts, main characters, setting, and events in a movie. Plot is about determining the stages at which key conflicts are set up and resolved. What’s interesting about most of the movies made in Hollywood is that, while the stories may change, the plot structure is virtually identical in most of the movies made by Hollywood. According to Bordwell and Thompson, the plot is what we explicitly see and hear while the story includes information that is inferred (suggested) to the viewer.

The most common narrative structure in mainstream films is called the Classical Narrative Structure.

The Classical Narrative Structure

The Classical Narrative Structure is called this because it is the way most movies are made in Hollywood. It’s not classic because it is the oldest structure of storytelling or the best, but the most common. It is the storytelling structure in Star Wars, Buster KeatonÕs The General (1926), The Matrix (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 1999), and any number of other films we might think of. It’s based on a three-act format that organizes the story in the following way.

Act I The Setup

Here, we are introduced to the main characters in the story, their goals, and the obstacles they are likely to face to achieve their objectives. The main conflict in the story is introduced, as well as the major antagonist (the villain) who will stand in the way of the protagonist’s (the hero’s) objectives.

We can call Act I in a movie the Hook. It sets up the story so that the film engages the attention of the audience and suggests the story’s likely development. Act I generally takes up about one quarter of a film’s total length.

Act II The Development

Here plot complications are added to the story. An increasing sense of urgency is created when the main characters encounter obstacles that stand in the way of their journey. The second act generally occupies the middle two-quarters of the film and it often includes a false resolution to the main conflict set up in Act I. Once the false resolution has been encountered, the action in the movie generally points inevitably toward a necessary climax.

Throughout Act II, Cause-Effect Relationships propel the main characters along. Cause-effect rela- tionships involve actions that force a reaction on the part of some character, leading to a new action and reaction, and so on.

Act III The Resolution

In the final segment of the film, the results of the story’s main conflict come to dramatic con- frontation. This is called the Climax. It is the point where key struggles are waged and an eventual victor is determined. In Hollywood films, needless to say, the eventual victor is usually our hero.

Following the climax, Closure is introduced into the story, which simply means that all the major conflicts, issues, or ideas in the story are resolved. The so-called Hollywood ending is the most popular kind of closure in the classical narrative structure. Films with this kind of conclusion usually close with a sense that the protagonists in the film live happily ever after.

Resolution - This question is also about narrative but focuses on the ending of the film. You can still use the theories above but the examiner will expect you to consider how satisfying the ending is. Does it 'tie up loose ends'? Is it an 'open' ending that may lead to a sequel? Is it a happy ending (classical narrative) or a sad one? Is it an ambiguous ending where the spectator is uncertain about what happens next? Is it a circular narrative, where we return to the start of the film? Were 'alternate' endings filmed which change the narrative from the released film? Was the ending changed as a result of preview screenings? What messages and values can we take from the ending?
Representation - questions about representation often focus on gender but you could also be asked to comment on the representation of social groups or places. Read more about the concept of representation here http://howardschoolmedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Representation
Gender - questions about gender are normally associated with representation, but you could be asked about whether your characters fulfil typical gender roles in the films.
Messages and values - films are not just entertainment; they convey messages to the spectator (you). These messages can be intended by the director (a preferred reading) or open to your own interpretation (a negotiated reading). A message could be something like 'war destroys people's lives' in a film that shows the impact of war on a family. "The Shawshank Redemption" carries the message that you should never give up hope. A value is something that humans think is important. So a film that is about a reformed criminal might be promoting the value of honesty. Similarly, the story "A Christmas Carol" supports the value of human kindness and generosity as opposed to greed and selfishness. You will need to identify messages and values in your films and give specific examples from scenes that illustrate your points.
Britishness - this may be represented in characters, locations, iconography, language, props, clothing, dialogue, accents etc. You will only find this question in Section B and you should think about the aspects of your two films that make them distinctively British (or not).
Locations - this type of question is really about representation. How do the locations used contribute to the film and what do they represent. For example, a film that uses London as a location may use landmarks that represent wealth and glamour such as Canary Wharf, or landmarks that represent history and tradition such as the Houses of Parliament; or it may show the grimy backstreets of the East End to represent working class London. You need to be able to identify scenes from your films that make effective use of locations and explain where the locations are and what message and values they communicate.
Mise-en-scene / style - this question is one that invites you to analyse individual scenes. It's a good question because there's so much you can write about, e.g. performance, dialogue, props, costumes, locations, sets, lighting, colour, etc. To answer this question well you have to have a detailed knowledge of key scenes within your films and be able to micro analyse them. You could just write about one scene from each film as long as you consider each of the two scenes in detail. Sometimes a mise-en-scene question is 'disguised' by the use of the word style instead of mise-en-scene. If you see a question that asks you to write about the style of your films, you can still write about mise-en-scene but you might also compare the films to other films that have a similar style. Style can also be applied to representation, narrative and messages and values, so potentially it is a broad question.
Genre conventions - for a question about genre conventions, you first need to identify the genre. Your films are horrors and dramas about men whose 'glory days' are behind them. Genre conventions can be seen in the iconography of micro features (camerawork, sound, mise-en-scene and editing) and in other areas, including narrative, representation, gender, messages and values, Britishness or 'American-ness' and themes. You will need to give examples drawn from these areas and any others that you can think of. You can make some references to similar films too.
Context questions want you to consider your wider reading about the film; the people who made it, the stars and where it was made.

As you can see, these question areas are all linked in some way and whatever question you answer, you will probably be writing about representation, narrative, and messages and values.

Friday, 7 December 2012

Charles Gant

The host of the Film Futures day was film journalist, Charles Gant. You can read some of his recent articles for The Guardian here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/charles-gant