Wednesday, 16 December 2015
New Wave Film Evaluation
Upon Completion of my Dogme 95 text, I believe it was successful in portraying the conventions of the Dogme 95 movement, with heavy technical inspiration from Thomas Vinterberg's 'Festen' and Ake Sandgren's 'Truly Human', which is evident through the use of flash-panning (inspired by Truly Human) and through defiance of the 30 degree rule (as seen in Festen), with one cut actually having the camera not move at all. Due to the little time I had and the non-existent budget, I could not produce a stereotypically 'Dogme' narrative in the essence that it was not about a shocking, taboo subject, as seen throughout Festen through the means of child abuse, so I instead produced a text based around the ideas of paranoia and isolation, and how these can cause a frantic, erratic lifestyle, and I believe the style of filming and editing within the Dogme 95 movement portrays this message quite clearly. The slow shutter speed causes a lot of motion blur within the film, which is something I was looking for when producing the film, as this can be seen throughout Dogme texts, as when shooting with 35mm there is often quite a bit of motion blur. Unfortunately I was not able to use a 35mm camera as I was limited to the equipment I had at hand and had no budget, so therefore used a DSLR and adjusted the settings to allow for the best Dogme look I could gain. As I was creating a text based on the Dogme 95 movement, I could not experiment with lighting or add any colour to the scene, as this would be subverting the rules of the manifesto, so all lighting in the text had to be natural, therefore certain scenes are under-exposed due to lack of lighting. I also decided to produce the title sequence through just writing down the name of the film. I also decided to incorporate rolling dice into the film to add an element of randomness and luck, so I decided to produce the 'Dogme certification number' through rolling dice. Unfortunately, the actual Dogme movement ended over 10 years ago, therefore I was not able to gain actual certification, but this would have severely added time to the pre-production, as I would have to wait for the film to be certified before filming. All sound and imagery was produced from the camera itself, as I did not use any professional recording equipment, however the microphone on the Canon 700D is significantly better than the base microphone on any camera I have experienced before, as there is very little that the microphone was unable to pick up. overall, I am very pleased with my text, because in my opinion it perfectly displays the rules of the Dogme movement.
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Freud- Structure of the Personality
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical work is renowned worldwide as influential, most commonly the idea that everyone's personalities consist of 3 distinct parts: the Id; the ego, and the superego.
The Id:
This is the element of the psyche built on irrational desires, containing the libido, natural instincts and even aggression. This pat of the mind is unconscious, therefore we have no control over it.
The Ego:
This element represents the conscious mind, and the choice between rationality and irrationality, between control and the uncontrollable. The Ego represents the balance between right and wrong, and the balance between choosing between what is best for us and what we want to do
The Superego:
This part of the psyche is also unconscious, but this is the representation of moral authority, of a conscience. This is our grounding with the real world, and is often developed based on what a child's parents tell them what is right and wrong.
In terms of in film, these elements can be seen throughout narrative cinema, often with characters in a film representing elements of the psyche. Often a film's protagonist will represent the Ego, and there will be a reckless character which often gets them into trouble, representing the Id, and a parent figure will often represent the Superego, as they often bring the character back to earth. This is clearly displayed in David Fincher's 'Fight Club', with The Narrator representing the Ego, Tyler Durden representing the Id, and at first the self help groups representing the Superego, as they give The Narrator a sense of security and allow him to sleep at night, with this Superego later developing into the various Fight Clubs. Another text which displays the theory of the Id, Ego and Superego is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In this film there are 3 main characters, Ferris, Cameron and Sloane. Ferris represents the id, as he skips school and convince Cameron to borrow his dad's car, clearly showing the reckless traits of an Id. In contrast, Cameron represents the Superego, as he is shown to constantly be worried that their actions will get them into trouble and is constantly in fear of his clearly abusive father. Sloane therefore represents the ego, as she constantly bring the two together and comforts Cameron. A third text which displays Freud's theory is Enemy, in which a man finds his double whilst watching a film, so tracks him down, but the double turns out to be him, and he has created another personality in order to cheat on his wife. His alternate personality of Adam Bell is arguably the Ego, as he is a fairly timid character with not much real say in his own life, however this persona is used to cheat on his wife, whereas Anthony Claire represents the Id, because at the beginning of the film we see this persona go to a strip club, which could have been the start of his alternate personality forming, and he has a desire to sleep with 'Adam's' girlfriend. The women in his life, such as his wife and his mother are the Superego, as these people bring him back to earth, and his mother tells him to 'give up his dream of acting'
The Id:
This is the element of the psyche built on irrational desires, containing the libido, natural instincts and even aggression. This pat of the mind is unconscious, therefore we have no control over it.
The Ego:
This element represents the conscious mind, and the choice between rationality and irrationality, between control and the uncontrollable. The Ego represents the balance between right and wrong, and the balance between choosing between what is best for us and what we want to do
The Superego:
This part of the psyche is also unconscious, but this is the representation of moral authority, of a conscience. This is our grounding with the real world, and is often developed based on what a child's parents tell them what is right and wrong.
In terms of in film, these elements can be seen throughout narrative cinema, often with characters in a film representing elements of the psyche. Often a film's protagonist will represent the Ego, and there will be a reckless character which often gets them into trouble, representing the Id, and a parent figure will often represent the Superego, as they often bring the character back to earth. This is clearly displayed in David Fincher's 'Fight Club', with The Narrator representing the Ego, Tyler Durden representing the Id, and at first the self help groups representing the Superego, as they give The Narrator a sense of security and allow him to sleep at night, with this Superego later developing into the various Fight Clubs. Another text which displays the theory of the Id, Ego and Superego is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In this film there are 3 main characters, Ferris, Cameron and Sloane. Ferris represents the id, as he skips school and convince Cameron to borrow his dad's car, clearly showing the reckless traits of an Id. In contrast, Cameron represents the Superego, as he is shown to constantly be worried that their actions will get them into trouble and is constantly in fear of his clearly abusive father. Sloane therefore represents the ego, as she constantly bring the two together and comforts Cameron. A third text which displays Freud's theory is Enemy, in which a man finds his double whilst watching a film, so tracks him down, but the double turns out to be him, and he has created another personality in order to cheat on his wife. His alternate personality of Adam Bell is arguably the Ego, as he is a fairly timid character with not much real say in his own life, however this persona is used to cheat on his wife, whereas Anthony Claire represents the Id, because at the beginning of the film we see this persona go to a strip club, which could have been the start of his alternate personality forming, and he has a desire to sleep with 'Adam's' girlfriend. The women in his life, such as his wife and his mother are the Superego, as these people bring him back to earth, and his mother tells him to 'give up his dream of acting'
Lacan- The Mirror Stage
Jacques Lacan formulated his idea on the mirror stage in 1966, stating that when infants see themselves in the mirror, their mind goes through stages. Firstly, believing the image is superior to themselves, and accept it as their ideal, sometimes leading to narcissistic tendencies. They then strive to be like the Ideal, due to them believing they are imperfect, which can cause self-loathing.
The mirror stage can similarly be viewed in terms of cinema. Females often see attractive women on-screen, and therefore this is rooted in their minds as being the ideal, so they look to transform into the superior beings that they see on screen, causing a state of simulacra, where the constructed media (vague reflection of reality) alters someone's perception of reality so they strive to be more like what they see on screen, therefore becoming this vague reflection of themselves. This can also be seen in males with violence, as they see violent males on screen getting women, and therefore become more violent as they believe this will attract more women. In females, however, this can cause body dysmorphia, or eating disorders such as anorexia, because they are striving to become more like their 'ideal', which therefore reinforces Mulvey's idea of the male gaze.
In terms of in cinema, this could relate to a film where someone's identity has been stolen or they look in the mirror and see someone other than themselves staring back at them, such as in Source Code, where Jake Gyllenhaal's character wakes up on a train and checks his ID and looks in the mirror to find someone other than himself. In Unknown, Liam Neeson's character comes out of a coma and his wife doesn't know who he is, but someone else has stolen his identity and his entire life.
The mirror stage can similarly be viewed in terms of cinema. Females often see attractive women on-screen, and therefore this is rooted in their minds as being the ideal, so they look to transform into the superior beings that they see on screen, causing a state of simulacra, where the constructed media (vague reflection of reality) alters someone's perception of reality so they strive to be more like what they see on screen, therefore becoming this vague reflection of themselves. This can also be seen in males with violence, as they see violent males on screen getting women, and therefore become more violent as they believe this will attract more women. In females, however, this can cause body dysmorphia, or eating disorders such as anorexia, because they are striving to become more like their 'ideal', which therefore reinforces Mulvey's idea of the male gaze.
In terms of in cinema, this could relate to a film where someone's identity has been stolen or they look in the mirror and see someone other than themselves staring back at them, such as in Source Code, where Jake Gyllenhaal's character wakes up on a train and checks his ID and looks in the mirror to find someone other than himself. In Unknown, Liam Neeson's character comes out of a coma and his wife doesn't know who he is, but someone else has stolen his identity and his entire life.
Contextual study evaluation
The first stage of studying the Dogme 95 movement was to gather information from a variety of sources so that I could begin to develop my overall understanding of the Dogme movement, firstly by uncovering who the directors were behind the initial concept of the Dogme movement. After this, the next logical step was to look into the rules that these directors would have to follow in order to abide to the Dogme manifesto, and looking into what exactly 'the vow of chastity' entailed. After my knowledge of the new wave had been vastly improved, I proceeded to view texts within the movement, and analyse the texts whilst having the 'ten commandments' of the Dogme manifesto in mind, in order to see if the directors followed every rule to the letter, often finding that directors would bend the rules to their full potential, or break one or two rules but still manage to produce a text that has an overall Dogme feel, such as with 'Truly Human', as Åke Sandgren subverted the rule that 'The sound must never be produced apart from the image or vice-versa', as in some scenes there is non-diegetic sound. Most of the research I acquired was from books and online in order to study different people's interpretations of the text whilst I had my own opinion. Whilst studying these books, I was careful not to stray into anything that was not relevant to the essay I was producing, as with the essay I was not able to stray from the subject at hand as there was very little leeway to "colour outside the lines" so to speak. I believe that after my study of the Dogme 95 movement, I have developed an in-depth opinion of the new wave, and I will be able to produce a piece following the majority of the conventions of Dogme 95.
New Wave Film Planning
When shooting, I will use only natural lighting, in order to abide to the rules of the Dogme 95 movement. I plan on shooting all of the footage on location, as to obey the Vow of chastity that I have sworn to follow. This vow of chastity also states that I cannot use and non-diegetic sound, so I cannot use any soundtracks or sound effects. I will also not be able to credit myself as the director, the film cannot contain any action that is deemed superficial, it must be handheld and there cannot be any optical effects or filters, so no overplayed titles or credits. The film must also take place in the here and now, so it cannot be set in New York in 1957 for example. The only rule I cannot follow is that it must be in Academy 35mm, so to compensate for this I plan on adjusting the ratio on the camera to get squarer footage and to shoot with a low shutter speed so that it is grainier.
I plan on producing a text based on the subject of isolation and paranoia, based loosely on my own life, with the frantic nature of my life being portrayed in the film through the use of quick edits and sped-up footage. I also plan on writing out the titles and credits to follow the rule that there can be no optical effects. In terms of editing, I want the cuts to seem jarring, with at least one cut not following the 30 degree rule, as inspired by Vinterberg's 'Festen', and I also plan on producing quick panning cuts, as seen in Sandgren's 'Truly Human'. I plan on the narrative of the film to be very loose, with some improvised footage and little, if any, dialogue. I intend for an audience to gain their own reading from the text, so two people could gain completely different interpretations.
I plan on producing a text based on the subject of isolation and paranoia, based loosely on my own life, with the frantic nature of my life being portrayed in the film through the use of quick edits and sped-up footage. I also plan on writing out the titles and credits to follow the rule that there can be no optical effects. In terms of editing, I want the cuts to seem jarring, with at least one cut not following the 30 degree rule, as inspired by Vinterberg's 'Festen', and I also plan on producing quick panning cuts, as seen in Sandgren's 'Truly Human'. I plan on the narrative of the film to be very loose, with some improvised footage and little, if any, dialogue. I intend for an audience to gain their own reading from the text, so two people could gain completely different interpretations.
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