Thursday, 29 November 2018
To what extent has film form in Hollywood Cinema changed since the Classical Era?
To what extent has film form in Hollywood Cinema changed since the Classical Era?
Speed
Take length
More long shots
Pacing slower
In classical era speech progressed plot, in modern action progresses plot
Editing
Prevalence of continuity editing
Less editing, instead relying on camera movement
Performance is more theatrical, make use of space
The costumes aren't specific or character defining - i.e Vertigo and Blade Runner
Film form has evolved greatly
Speed
Take length
More long shots
Pacing slower
In classical era speech progressed plot, in modern action progresses plot
Editing
Prevalence of continuity editing
Less editing, instead relying on camera movement
Performance is more theatrical, make use of space
The costumes aren't specific or character defining - i.e Vertigo and Blade Runner
Film form has evolved greatly
Monday, 26 November 2018
Ridley Scott and Blade Runner vs Vertigo
Ridley Scott Thematic Traits
Dystopian Futures
Identity
Humanity
Isolation
Corporation Corruption
Aesthetic Traits:
High contrast colour low key lighting
Shooting through smoke
Long landscape establishing shots
Cinematography used for world building rather than narrative (possibly because the world is more interesting than the characters, at least the protagonist
Eye close ups
Deckard introduced (expositional) without being told anything about him, contrasted with Scotty who presents all the relevant information straight away
Difference in gender representation - especially
Rachel a passively strong character, Priss and Zhora combatants
Even in 1982 still has ideas of toxic masculinity - women like forceful men
Vertigo has no ethnic minorities+
Angles shooting Roy goes from level to low, especially in Deckard hanging over ledge - through smoke, almost god-like
More camera movement than Vertigo
Costume saying a lot more about characters
Dystopian Futures
Identity
Humanity
Isolation
Corporation Corruption
Aesthetic Traits:
High contrast colour low key lighting
Shooting through smoke
Long landscape establishing shots
Cinematography used for world building rather than narrative (possibly because the world is more interesting than the characters, at least the protagonist
Eye close ups
Deckard introduced (expositional) without being told anything about him, contrasted with Scotty who presents all the relevant information straight away
Difference in gender representation - especially
Rachel a passively strong character, Priss and Zhora combatants
Even in 1982 still has ideas of toxic masculinity - women like forceful men
Vertigo has no ethnic minorities+
Angles shooting Roy goes from level to low, especially in Deckard hanging over ledge - through smoke, almost god-like
More camera movement than Vertigo
Costume saying a lot more about characters
Thursday, 22 November 2018
Vertigo Microfeatures
Music constant and dramatic/atmospheric
Performance overdramatic
Editing - loads of cross fades - all scene transitions are fades, loads of long takes
Performance overdramatic
High key colour, strange for the genre
Mise-en-scene - shot in studio vast majority of time, costume main focus of the last section but say nothing personal about them (differs massively to Blade Runner)Editing - loads of cross fades - all scene transitions are fades, loads of long takes
Auteur
Spectatorship
Production Context
Film Form - micro features, narrative etc
Can appear in any
To what extent has film form in Hollywood cinema changed since the classical era (1930s - mid 1960s)
Run by studios, no independent films - look up for homework, how did it get broken down
Contracted by a studio for a certain period of time. Provided lessons to make them create a lot of films later
Spectatorship
Production Context
Film Form - micro features, narrative etc
Can appear in any
To what extent has film form in Hollywood cinema changed since the classical era (1930s - mid 1960s)
Run by studios, no independent films - look up for homework, how did it get broken down
Contracted by a studio for a certain period of time. Provided lessons to make them create a lot of films later
Thursday, 15 November 2018
Is The Grand Budapest Hotel Experimental
Immediately breaks fourth wall
Unique, comic book style visuals
Narration works with dialogue
Obsessive use of symmetry
Storyline is four layers deep - woman reading book, man reading book aloud, Jude Law talking to Zero, the actual story
Stylized title cards
Odd use of swearing - surprising with the childish style of the film
Unique, comic book style visuals
Narration works with dialogue
Obsessive use of symmetry
Storyline is four layers deep - woman reading book, man reading book aloud, Jude Law talking to Zero, the actual story
Stylized title cards
Odd use of swearing - surprising with the childish style of the film
Monday, 5 November 2018
To what extent can your chosen film be classed as experimental?
Study Buddy: Elaine
Write down a list at the bottom of what research you did
Ideas:
1. Non-linearity - basic plot made interesting by the way it's told, relates to 2.
2. Style over substance - stylistic dialogue, glorification of violence, music, stylized subject mattes (ie gangsters) etc. create an aesthetic film which covers up the boring plot
3. Expectations: Casting - Travolta, Willis, Thurman, Wallace as black, Lance as a businessman. Messes with what we expect characters and actors to be + Messes with convention. Relates to 4
4. Plot doesn't have traditional (and once necessary by law - Hays Code) comeuppance for criminals, everything stays the same (Todorov's ideal of equilibrium)
To what extent can your chosen film be classed as experimental?
Perhaps the most obvious part of Pulp Fiction that makes it experimental is it's non-linear narrative. The plot - the events that happen in the film. In fact, this film can be considered an anthology film, as all plot lines in the film are tied together by one person - Marcellus Wallace, and little else. Such an approach to the film essentially covers up the unoriginal, uninteresting plot of the film, making the spectator more interested in it as events often occur without prior knowledge, making the audience want to find out how it happened, the opposite to the usual aproach This stylised approach to writing is very experimental, as Tarantino took the story and placed it in a circular narrative, very different to most film's narratives, especially at the time. A similar idea used by Tarantino, for the same purpose, is prioritising style over substance. For example, the dialogue in the film is very stylised but achieves little - the whole Jack Rabbit Slims scene had no relevant dialogue to the plot at all, and only serves to build the 'cool', stylish aesthetic of the film, again an experimental idea. Examples of this concept can also be seen in music choice - 60s and 70s pop. These examples show the power sound has in a film, and how it can be used to make a film experimental as seen here.
A large part of exeperimentalism is subverting expectation. Tarantino as an auteur does this frequently with his casting choices, of which there are many examples in Pulp Fiction. John Travolta's career was seen as ended, and mainly consisted of rom coms and dancing films, so to play a serious, if slightly comedic, hitman in a drama was massively risky, and as such unexpected. The filmmaker also used this technique to play with established roles/character tropes. Uma Thurman as the femme fatale Mia Wallace drastically differs from the stereotypical portrayal of the role. While still attractive, Wallace's costume (a baggy white shirt and trousers) strays from the standard dress, which immediately points the character out to the spectator as alternative, different, unpredicatable. She is still clearly dangerous - drug use, a controlling demeanor and her unexpectadly intelligent observation ('awkward silences') reveal the potential for manipulation and malice. Of course, this is a staple of the femme fatale character, but Thurman does this in a way that differs from usual -in her later scenes. The frailty and vulnerability shown by her overdose, and the joke she tells to Vince, gives a glimpse past the hard exterioir of the trope, into a deeper, more developed character, yet again subverting expectation. Similarly, diverting from Propp's characters is also something this film does. There is no clear protagonist (although common theory suggests Vince and Jules), the antagonist ranges from character to character, and even incudes other characters (Honey Bunny and Pumpkin's being Vince and Jules), the Princess/Treasure Chest, Side Kick and most others are also ambiguous. So Tarantino made Pulp Fiction experiemental by going against the spectator's assumptions and expectiaitons through the use of casting and charactrer performance.
As a film primarily about crime and the criminal underworld, it doesn't obey the typical structure of crime-based films. In fact, 30 years before it was illegal for crime films to end with the criminals not being punished, as is the case in this film, due to the Hays Code. And while it ended decades before, the code set in place a set of values rarely if ever crossed, which is another reason why Pulp Fiction is experimental. This relates to Todorov's theory of narrative. Instead of the resolution of a new equilibrium being instated, all criminals return to their lives without repercussion (with the exception of Vince), meaning that the equilibrium didn't change at all. The film goes against the idea of narrative resolution typical not only in its genre but in film in general, again experimental.
However, there is also the argument that Tarantino's films aren't experimental, merely pastiche. The majority of his ideas, esepcially in Pulp Fiction, stem from other films, going against the idea of experimentalism - being the first to do something. For example, the Jack Rabbt Slims dance scene is lifted from Federico Fellini's 1963 film 8 1/2, the square Mia made just before is from the Flintstones, and many more. Although homage is a staple of post modernism, it is debated that Tarantino takes this too far, and so his films (including Pulp Fiction) aren't experimental.
In conclusion, Pulp Fiction takes the staples of cinema, and use the audience's concept of this to subvert expectation, an act that makes the film experimental, however, it's argued whether it is in fact the first time these things have been done,. So while there are asepcts of the film which are experiemntal, it's debatable whether the film can be classified as such.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/quentin-tarantino-stolen-movie-scenes-2015-6
Write down a list at the bottom of what research you did
Ideas:
1. Non-linearity - basic plot made interesting by the way it's told, relates to 2.
2. Style over substance - stylistic dialogue, glorification of violence, music, stylized subject mattes (ie gangsters) etc. create an aesthetic film which covers up the boring plot
3. Expectations: Casting - Travolta, Willis, Thurman, Wallace as black, Lance as a businessman. Messes with what we expect characters and actors to be + Messes with convention. Relates to 4
4. Plot doesn't have traditional (and once necessary by law - Hays Code) comeuppance for criminals, everything stays the same (Todorov's ideal of equilibrium)
To what extent can your chosen film be classed as experimental?
Perhaps the most obvious part of Pulp Fiction that makes it experimental is it's non-linear narrative. The plot - the events that happen in the film. In fact, this film can be considered an anthology film, as all plot lines in the film are tied together by one person - Marcellus Wallace, and little else. Such an approach to the film essentially covers up the unoriginal, uninteresting plot of the film, making the spectator more interested in it as events often occur without prior knowledge, making the audience want to find out how it happened, the opposite to the usual aproach This stylised approach to writing is very experimental, as Tarantino took the story and placed it in a circular narrative, very different to most film's narratives, especially at the time. A similar idea used by Tarantino, for the same purpose, is prioritising style over substance. For example, the dialogue in the film is very stylised but achieves little - the whole Jack Rabbit Slims scene had no relevant dialogue to the plot at all, and only serves to build the 'cool', stylish aesthetic of the film, again an experimental idea. Examples of this concept can also be seen in music choice - 60s and 70s pop. These examples show the power sound has in a film, and how it can be used to make a film experimental as seen here.
A large part of exeperimentalism is subverting expectation. Tarantino as an auteur does this frequently with his casting choices, of which there are many examples in Pulp Fiction. John Travolta's career was seen as ended, and mainly consisted of rom coms and dancing films, so to play a serious, if slightly comedic, hitman in a drama was massively risky, and as such unexpected. The filmmaker also used this technique to play with established roles/character tropes. Uma Thurman as the femme fatale Mia Wallace drastically differs from the stereotypical portrayal of the role. While still attractive, Wallace's costume (a baggy white shirt and trousers) strays from the standard dress, which immediately points the character out to the spectator as alternative, different, unpredicatable. She is still clearly dangerous - drug use, a controlling demeanor and her unexpectadly intelligent observation ('awkward silences') reveal the potential for manipulation and malice. Of course, this is a staple of the femme fatale character, but Thurman does this in a way that differs from usual -in her later scenes. The frailty and vulnerability shown by her overdose, and the joke she tells to Vince, gives a glimpse past the hard exterioir of the trope, into a deeper, more developed character, yet again subverting expectation. Similarly, diverting from Propp's characters is also something this film does. There is no clear protagonist (although common theory suggests Vince and Jules), the antagonist ranges from character to character, and even incudes other characters (Honey Bunny and Pumpkin's being Vince and Jules), the Princess/Treasure Chest, Side Kick and most others are also ambiguous. So Tarantino made Pulp Fiction experiemental by going against the spectator's assumptions and expectiaitons through the use of casting and charactrer performance.
As a film primarily about crime and the criminal underworld, it doesn't obey the typical structure of crime-based films. In fact, 30 years before it was illegal for crime films to end with the criminals not being punished, as is the case in this film, due to the Hays Code. And while it ended decades before, the code set in place a set of values rarely if ever crossed, which is another reason why Pulp Fiction is experimental. This relates to Todorov's theory of narrative. Instead of the resolution of a new equilibrium being instated, all criminals return to their lives without repercussion (with the exception of Vince), meaning that the equilibrium didn't change at all. The film goes against the idea of narrative resolution typical not only in its genre but in film in general, again experimental.
However, there is also the argument that Tarantino's films aren't experimental, merely pastiche. The majority of his ideas, esepcially in Pulp Fiction, stem from other films, going against the idea of experimentalism - being the first to do something. For example, the Jack Rabbt Slims dance scene is lifted from Federico Fellini's 1963 film 8 1/2, the square Mia made just before is from the Flintstones, and many more. Although homage is a staple of post modernism, it is debated that Tarantino takes this too far, and so his films (including Pulp Fiction) aren't experimental.
In conclusion, Pulp Fiction takes the staples of cinema, and use the audience's concept of this to subvert expectation, an act that makes the film experimental, however, it's argued whether it is in fact the first time these things have been done,. So while there are asepcts of the film which are experiemntal, it's debatable whether the film can be classified as such.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/quentin-tarantino-stolen-movie-scenes-2015-6
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)