New Wave Film Brief

After studying various film New Waves and analysing the Dogme 95 movement, it is apparent that there is a theme of rebellion against mainstream cinema in each different movement, with each of them containing significant stylistic technical conventions, for example in Dogme 95 with the use of handheld camera, natural lighting etc. and also the breaking of the fourth wall in the French New Wave. New Waves also tend to deal with subjects that most mainstream cinema doesn't tend to touch on or didn't at the time, such as in the American New Wave with the subject of drug culture, or with Dogme 95 and the dark subjects paedophilia, kidnapping, abortion etc.

I intend to replicate the technical conventions of Dogme 95, with the intentions of following the Vow of Chastity as closely as I can, however not conforming to the rule of shooting in 35mm, as it will be filmed with a DSLR. I may also subvert the rule of having no temporal alienation by having the narrative non-linear as opposed to the conventional Dogme film's linear narrative, however the film will take place in the here and now, just in a non-linear format. I intend to show prominent use of handheld camera, with cuts inspired by Åke Sandgren's 'Truly Human', which often contain quick movement of the camera from one place to another, making the cut seem as if it didn't happen and with a significant fluidity unlike any film of it's kind.  The use of only diegetic sound, natural lighting and on-location shooting will replicate the intentions of the Dogme movement, to re-integrate realism into cinema and take away the 'illusion of emotion' and show the real emotions within the character. I intend to borrow a 50mm lens from college to get a lower aperture and therefore a shallower depth of field which will add to the element of isolation within the narrative, a convention that I tend to heavily explore within the film. I also plan on using a fairly high ISO to add graininess into the footage, but not too high that it becomes too dark. I plan on using quite a low shutter speed to add a shaky, jerky nature to the narrative, however not so low that the fluidity of certain shots is lost.

The narrative of the film will follow one main character struggling to follow societal norms and being isolated from the mainstream culture, so therefore exploring the counter-culture aspect most often associated with the American New Wave.