Music Video Evaluation

At first, when creating a music video, I struggled to think of an idea. I had my heart set on a Math Rock song, but wasn't sure which band to choose, so I decided to choose the band that first got me into the genre, The Bulletproof Tiger. Momentum Booooooootssss is my personal favourite song by the band, so I decided to do this song for my music video. The first problem I encountered was the fact that the song had no lyrics, so to some there seems to be no meaning there. I then began analysing Math Rock music videos, and found that a common theme throughout the majority is food, so decided to follow that trend, as to promote a genre image. I instantly knew the most prominent food would be a hot dog, because I find them amusing, and I wanted to put one of my friends in a hot dog costume for the entertainment value of the video, as most Math Rock videos are humorous. I also chose the Hot Dog, because hot dogs themselves are quite disgusting in nature, with an array of mystery meat, because you never know what you're going to get in a hot dog, like with math rock, because as an experimental genre you don't know what to expect, as the style of music throughout the genre differs greatly.

I am pleased with the quality of most of the footage, however some of it is quite grainy and under exposed, this is due to filming inside at night with lack of professional lighting equipment, so I had to turn the ISO up to the maximum, and have the aperture as wide often as possible, with an aperture of f/5.6. I tried to edit this post-production, however the quality suffered from this even furthers I decided to leave it untampered with. During the editing process, I discovered that I did not have enough footage to fill the whole song, as the strict course deadline and the ambitious amount of footage I wanted to get stopped me from managing to film every shot, so I had to cut the music down and add an exponential fade so that the music did not just stop suddenly. Another barrier I had to cross when filming the music video was finding people who would be willing to star in some of these outlandish shots, so for a good portion of the footage I had to film and be in the footage, which accounted for a lot of re shots, taking up even more of my time before the deadline. I finally found someone willing to dress as a hot dog, but was adamant that he would not actually swallow the hot dog, therefore I had to do a bit of 'movie magic' (commonly known as editing) in order to make it look like the hot dog was eaten. In hindsight, when I filmed the shot of me eating the hot dog 'whole' it did make me feel a little bit sick so I don't blame him for not eating the 'meat'. 

Due to the amount of shots in the footage, and the complexity of the gummy bear dance sequence, I encountered the classic problem of running out of space on my SD card, but this is down to my own fault as I had not properly cleared the card of the data from the last project, therefore there were hidden traces of this footage left on the SD card. The last problem I encountered was again whilst editing, and this was that apparently the stills I had taken to create the stop motion dance sequence were in the wrong format, as they were in CS Raw files, and I needed them as JPEGs. Normally this would not be a problem, but the Mac I was editing on was old and had out dated versions of software on there, so I had to move the files to another computer and convert them there. 

Below is a shot of the bins I have used whilst editing my music video. I found that putting in the time to label footage clearly and using labelled bins significantly helped me during the editing process, as it was much easier to find the footage that I needed. At first, when editing, I was going to use just two bins for used and unused footage, however I then decided to label bins for the main scenes, and the 'used footage' bin became where I stored anything outside of these main scenes.

Overall I am proud of my final piece, as I believe you can see a certain degree of technical skill in there. Contrarily, however, if I were to have more time on this project I would definitely add more shots in order to create jump cuts throughout the video, with more editing done to the beat of the music and not just some of the final video edited in time to the music. However, one of my favourite shots in the music video is the transition from hot dog costume to actual hot dog, where I was trying to portray that the protagonist turns into a hot dog, but the framing in each of these shots matches up perfectly, which was honestly a complete accident, but makes the video look significantly more professional in my opinion.

Development of Editing Technology

Editing is used in order to put together pieces of footage in order to form a cohesive narrative. The first films in cinema contained no editing, and would be shot in one continuous take, which as you can imagine was tedious for actors and film makers alike. One of the first films to use editing was Georges Méliès' 'A Trip To The Moon'(1914), and the editing techniques used in this time period were very basic, involving the editor physically cutting film reels with a razor blade and pasting them together with glue and tape. This task was long winded and tedious, but without this basic form of editing we would not have the software that is commonly used by film makers today. This method of editing was used until 1924, when the Moviola was born. This piece of technology allowed for much smoother, easier editing, but also brought in edge numbering, which allowed for audio and video to be edited simultaneously.

Steenbeck later invented the flatbed editing suite, which took the world of editing by storm. The flatbed suite allowed an editor to view and edit footage, allowing for much more precise editing. In 1953, the Steenbeck flatbed 16mm 4 plate was introduced, the ST200. This 'new media' added optical sound and allowed for playback of 16mm perforated magnetic tape. In 1954, the ST100 was introduced, which allowed for the editing of 35mm film. Soon after, the first editing suite with a built in back projector came out, the ST400, which was followed by the ST500 switchblade, allowing for standard and cinemascope footage.

Kinescope recordings came about during the 1940's, which is at its roots a camera recording a video screen of a live broadcast, but this came with many technical downsides, such as banding and ghosting.

The next pioneering step in editing technology was when Ampex released the first 2" quadruplex video tape in 1956. This type of film allowed for editors to see the magnetic strip in the tape, so allowed for much more precision in editing. The con of this, however, is that video and audio could not be edited at the same time, as they were too far apart in the editing machine, so they therefore had to edit the video first and then put the audio back in it's corresponding place. Another problem is that with linear editing, it became a hassle when trying to re-edit pieces of footage, as you would have to edit over an old edit, therefore some of the old footage may remain over the new footage.

1971 saw the next game changing invention of the editing world, the CMX 600. Only six of these machines were ever invented, but they paved the way for non-linear editing. In 1989, the Avid 1 was produced, and having now overcome linear editing problems, they now were faced with the problem of having to store so much raw footage, so in 1993 Avid released a 7 terabyte system to overcome this issue. Non linear systems require two things, computer power and data storage, however non linear systems take significantly less time to use, which lessens production costs greatly as editors have some of the highest wages in film making.

Digital editing took the world by storm, as it could improved the quality of editing as a whole, as it was easier to add special effects, the footage is resistant to noise and chatter and is easy to copy and sync. 1990 saw the birth of New Trek's 'Video Toaster' on the Omega system, which had limited linear editing capabilities, however brought editing to schools and many low budget television studios. In 1995, the DVD was created, along with a new type of compression, MPEG-2. A year later, the first HD broadcast was made in the US, the process of which involved feeding a piece of 35mm footage through a telecine, which creates a digital copy of this footage, which could then be manipulated with special effects etc and converted back to film.

Since digital editing has become more and more popular, the editing world has never turned back, however it wasn't until 2002 that the first film was shot pure digitally, and this was Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Later that decade allowed for films to be shot digitally and edited completely online, therefore independent film makers have been growing in number more and more in recent years.

Music Video Research Evaluation

The first step in the production of my music video was to conduct research into music video theorists, such as Andrew Goodwin and Carol Vernallis, and to then apply this research when analysing music videos. Firstly, this consisted of secondary research, looking at books and web pages relating to these theorists and taking notes and writing blog posts around what I had found. This then became primary research as I analysed music videos looking for what I had previously found in Goodwin's and Vernallis' work.

I knew that I wanted to produce a music video for a piece of Math Rock music, which more often than not is completely instrumental, so I could disregard the points related to lyrics when looking a creating my music video. This semiotic analysis of music videos played a vital part in the production of my own music video as it allowed me to analyse the codes and conventions of math rock music videos, giving me an insight into what I need to achieve from my music video. When conducting analysis of music videos, I found that a lot of music videos visuals often contradicted the lyrics, especially in the more experimental videos, however a lot of the time the editing would amplify the beat of the music and in Tera Melos-Weird Circles, the people on screen can be seen mouthing the lyrics to the song. This analysis offered me an array of ideas and inspiration which followed me throughout the production of the music video.

Whilst analysing Math Rock music videos, I found a common theme that existed throughout many western Math Rock bands, which was food. I decided to go with this theme, and through primary research in the form of a questionnaire and focus groups I had come up with a selection of scenes to film thanks to people's ideas when confronted with the topic of food. I also managed to gain quantitative data that showed me that most of the people I questioned (55%) stated that experimental music videos were their favoured type of music video, with narrative being the second most favoured (30%) and only 15% of people saying that performance is their favourite type of music video. conducting this questionnaire was helpful for me, as it allowed me to gain quantitative data of people's opinions, as well as the qualitative data I got during the focus groups. The questionnaire however could be seen as biased, as multiple choice answers often do not allow for the full range of answers, as you cannot take into account every possibility. Also, some of the questions may have been slightly leading, however I tried to stay away from this as best as possible as I wanted the purest possible answers in the form of people's actual opinions and not what I want them to think their opinion is. The questionnaire was quite helpful in the production of my music video, as it allowed me to gain some insight and inspiration for my music video, however I feel that the focus group helped me more, as the questions were much more open and therefore I got a wide range of responses which then aided me in the formulation of the narrative of the music video.

In conclusion, I believe research went well in terms of what I wanted to achieve from the music video, but as my chosen song does not contain lyrics I was unable to research these and therefore the meaning of the song is rather ambiguous. If I were to do this project again, I would probably choose a song with more of a meaning and lyrics, so it would be easier to produce the music video. The quantitative data that I received from my questionnaire, however, could be argued to be not very reliable, due to the nature of the questions asked, and I believe that the focus group was significantly more helpful in the pre-production and production process. The secondary research that I conducted in the form of music video analysis was also incredibly helpful, as it really allowed me to come to terms with the conventions shown throughout math rock music videos.

Improvements to be made:

• Record audio of a focus group in order to back up findings and to listen to for inspiration
• Conduct a focus group with more participants to gain a more varied response and more data
• Create a questionnaire with open ended questions or an 'other' section so that more reliable responses can be determined.
• Analysis of more music videos relating to the Math Rock genre

Carol Vernallis

In her works, 'Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context' (2004) and 'Unruly Media: Youtube, Music Video, and the New Digital Cinema' (2013), Vernallis identifies 4 key factors in music video production, which are:

• Narrative
• Editing
• Camera Movement and Framing
• Diegesis

Narrative
The visuals you see in a music video are the visualisation of the song's narrative, or at least how a certain person views the narrative of the song. However, this narrative can often be skewed or fragmented, so an audience does not receive the full interpretation, which can often lead to many questions being left unanswered by the music video.

Editing
A common convention of music videos is experimental editing style and often breaking away from traditional continuity editing, through the use of jump cuts, breaking the 30 degree rule, contradicting imagery and often jarring transitions.

Camera Movement and Framing
The two most used shots in music videos are Establishing shots and Close Up shots, due to the nature of these shots being that yo set the scene, and then focus on something specific or get to feel the emotion in the song through close ups. Framing is also very important, because the placement of certain things can often be specific to that music video, creating a specific style.

Diegesis
The diegesis in a music video is often revealed slowly, and actions can often be disrupted or left unfinished. Music videos will often contain repetition of frames, because there is often one theme to a music video, or a piece of footage specific to a chorus that represents the song and is therefore repeated.

Vernallis, Carol. 2004. Experiencing Music Videos: Aesthetics and Cultural Context. Columbia University Press.
Vernallis, Carol. 2013. Unruly Media: Youtube, Music Video and the New Digital Cinema. Oxford University Press.

Andrew Goodwin

In Goodwin's work, 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory', published in 1992, he stated that there are 5 key aspects of a music video. These aspects are as follows:

• Thought Through Beat
• Relationship Between Song and Visuals
• Narrative and Performance of the Song
• Technical Aspects
• Star Image

Thought Through Beat
The first step of Goodwin's theory is analysis of the music structure, and looking at the verses and choruses. The next step is to look at the vocal style, and how it is significant to that certain singer, therefore linking to band/star image, as most people are able to identify an artist by their voice. The next step is to analyse the meaning/narrative of the song, as it can establish a story and tell you something about the songwriter's life.

Relationship Between Song and Visuals
There are three ways visuals are used to amplify a song:
-Illustrate;
Some music videos use visuals to illustrate/explain the meaning of the song/lyrics and relation to the genre.
-Subvert;
The visuals on screen completely contradict the song lyrics in some music videos
-Amplify;
This is when visuals are manipulated to add meaning to the song, such as using imagery to represent sounds in the song.

Narrative and Performance of the Song
Andrew Goodwin believed that it was important for the singer to star in the music video, in order to give the audience a good understanding of the song and to portray a sense of band image. He also believed that music videos should often disregard traditional narrative structure, as to have the performance of the song and the narrative work hand in hand in order for the visuals to represent the song, and so that an audience member can view the video over and over and still enjoy it.

Star Image
Goodwin believes that having the singer as the main focus of the music video, with many camera shots displaying them as the centre of attention is vital to make the video more appealing to the audience, as they will recognise them and this will boost their band image.

Technical Aspects
Goodwin believed that the technical aspects of a music video, i.e. the mise-en-scene, camera techniques, lighting aspects, special effects, sound and editing are the base building blocks of a music video and hold the whole thing together. Lighting and colour set the mood for the music video, as they can create emphasis on certain aspects and make an audience member feel a certain way. mise-en-scene is important to represent band image and to make something look more professional, as will camera, sound and editing.

Goodwin, Andrew. 1993. Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music, Television and Popular Culture. Routledge.

Music Video Analysis

Lost Penguin- Pleasurewood Kills

This music video for Pleasurewood Kills by Lost Penguin emanates a similar style as to what I am looking to achieve with my music video. The video consists of the three band members in a very low-key lit environment, with a very dark mise-en-scene, as they are all wearing black, but also each of them has various lights and LED's wrapped around them, creating high contrast between the band and their surroundings. The video is shot at a very slow shutter speed, creating the effect of painting with light, as when the band members spin around there is a trail of light following their movements. The footage is edited to the abnormal techno-esque beat, with very fast cuts due to the fast paced tone of the song. This slow shutter speed, combined with rhythmic editing gives an original, yet obscure effect to the video, as it makes the band members seem less human and more robotic, as their movements are jerkier in this style. This is especially prominent within shots of the bass player and when you see someone singing, as their fingers and mouths move much quicker than humanly possible. The obscure tone in this video visually represents the obscure tone of the band, as the genre they classify themselves as is 'Horror Space Punk', which is justified by this video, as the lighting gives an almost sci-fi effect, and the punk nature of the band members is represented by what they are wearing and the singer's hair colour.

Battles- Ice Cream

The music video for 'Ice Cream' by Battles has a very experimental style, which reflects the band's experimental image, as they are a Math Rock band. The first shot in the music video is of a naked woman eating ice cream in a bathtub, coupled with a romantic 'score' styled music. This seems to sexualise the ice cream, and we see a close up shot of the ice cream as it melts and drips into the water. The next shot is of a group of people in white karate outfits on a cliff near the ocean with the sun setting in the distance, and a shot of people in burgundy outfits with white belts in a gymnasium. A series of 'huh' and 'ah' style grunts can be heard, which is illustrated by the martial arts groups. There are fast cuts between these three initial shots, then other shots are introduced of picturesque landscapes, such as a snow covered mountain, a desert with golden sands, then a long shot of a woman on a beach, then an upside down shot of this same woman doing a handstand, and a close up shot of a balloon, and a cactus. All of these shots emanate a summery feel, which reflects the title of the song, as ice cream is usually eaten during summer time. There are then seemingly random shots of a close up of a man's hand on a woman's leg, and then the man's face as she slaps him, but this almost contradicts the sexualisation we had before in the first shot, as we barely see any of the woman except the fragmentation of her leg and hand. We see a fragmented shot of a man putting his T-shirt on, then a shot of a woman taking hers off, a shot of a guy drinking milk then spitting it out, all intercut with shots of the martial artists performing different moves such as punches and kicks. We then see a variety of shots of a real cat dry and then wet, and porcelain statues of cats and dogs against colourful, summery backgrounds, and a shot of a blue classic car then a shot of a blue toy car. We then see a fragmented shot of a woman putting on a pair of blue jeans, then putting the jeans on backwards. All of these aforementioned images are very quirky, which illustrates the band's quirky image. We then see two extreme close-up shots of two six-sided dice, firstly on double six, then on snake eyes, i.e. double one. We then see very short shots of women in odd filters, one being red with a yellow background, then another being green on a blue background. There are then contrasting shots of high heels, then a shot of women's pump shoes, and a shot of the top of a woman's head and a shot of her toes, then a shot of pizza and then cake, which has inspired me to follow a theme of food in my music video, as many math rock music videos contain some element of food within them. Later in the music video, we see superimposed imagery if girls fighting with ice cream, with silhouetted figures of the band members playing, a very experimental and impressive technique which illustrates the band image perfectly.

Tera Melos- Weird Circles

The final music video that has inspired me whilst producing a math rock music video is Tera Melos-Weird Circles. Tera Melos are well known as far as math rock banda go, and are known for wearing costumes in their music videos, as can be seen in this one. The video starts with a shot of a man in a suit with a paper bag on his head, in which he jump cuts backwards which is cut to the beat of the music. We then see a shit of someone playing the guitar, illustrating the music. There is then a shot of a stuffed mouse, but the opacity has been lowered to overlay the same image twice, and a fist comes in from either side to push the mouse out of frame from different sides . there is later a shot of a man eating cereal whilst watching television, with the cereal and milk pouring out of his mouth, which is something I want to replicate in my music video. Throughout the video we see various people (and a puppet) mime the lyrics, which illustrated the lyrics of the song, but subverts Goodwin's theory of star image, as it leaves the question as to who the lead singer actually is. One of these shots seems to homage Kenneth Anger's fireworks, in that we see a man being covered in milk, which could be a clever homage to experimental media and it's roots, as Anger is one of the founding fathers of experimental cinema, something which this video owes a lot of credit to, and experimental music and experimental cinema go hand in hand. The final shot I would like to mention in this music video is of the hot dog that has been edited to almost look as if it is dancing to the music, a shot that is incredibly odd in nature, however I think perfectly encapsulates the formula for creating a math rock music video, and has greatly inspired me in the production of my video.

Promotional Video Analysis

LG G5 Promotional Video

Target Audience: Males and Females aged 18-35
Mode of Address: The video contains close up shots and shots of people demonstrating the product in over the top, comical ways.
Technical Conventions: The video opens with a close up shot of the phone, where they show their new feature, a battery which is easily removed so your phone is never without full charge. The non-diegetic music within the text is very upbeat, which signifies that this product will make it's users enjoy the new features of the phone, which is coupled with shots of people smiling. This is reinforced with the use of vibrant colours, as the colours replicate the vibrant emotions being displayed by the consumers. The actors seem to be over-acting, which can often look comical, however in this instance it is used to promote the idea that this phone is unrealistic in terms of design and features, as it is almost futuristic. The use of over-acting could also be being used in the text as there is no dialogue, so they want to be able to display people's emotions without them having to speak, as a type of exposition. The vibrant colours also reference the wide variety of colours that the phone is available in. Another shot in the text is an extreme long shot of people in an office, with a close up of the phone superimposed on the left side. The battery is swapped and the bottom of the screen becomes some sort of party, so the company is clearly trying to state that this phone, by simply changing the battery, can make the most dull situations seem like a party. Another feature of the phone is a wide angle camera as well as a normal one, and this is shown through a long shot of a man fishing, but when they change to the wide angle lens you see that it is just a set, therefore implying that the phone can tell you things that you did not already know and reveal aspects of life that are otherwise hidden. They also boast a new feature where when the phone is locked, only the pixels displaying the time/date etc will light up, therefore saving battery power, but also not blinding you in dark situations (such as in the cinema, as shown in the text). They also show their new virtual reality headset, as virtual reality is becoming increasingly popular, but also perfectly displays the futuristic nature of the phone. Coupled with the 360 degree virtual reality headset is a 360 degree camera, used to capture 360 degree videos. They also show off their 'rolling bot' camera and headphones, both of which have a futuristic design to enforce the futurism behind the phone. A technical aspect that also explores this futurism is the mise-en-scene, as the characters in the text are all wearing quite outlandish, futuristic clothing to reinforce that this is a phone of the future made available now.
Brand Identity: One close up shot in the text shows two people doing some sort of secret handshake, implying that the phone will bring people together and cause people to build new friendships. Shots like this show the target audience that the brand cares about relationships with other people, not just with their product, so they feel like LG are their friends rather than just another brand, so to display this they have quite quirky and jokey scenes in their promotional video.
Narrative: The video does not have much of an overall narrative, but each individual scene has it's own narrative, such as the office scene that turns into a party, so in this way the video almost seems like a sit-com, which adds to the comical aspect of the video.

GoPro HERO4 Promotional Video

Target Audience: Males and Females aged 18-35, who are adventurous with a high disposable income.
Mode of Address: This video is shot entirely from a GoPro HERO4.
Technical Conventions:  The text opens with a close up shot of the camera followed by the logo and the slogan for the camera 'Be a hero'. This is coupled with an Australian man saying 'life is either an adventure or it's nothing at all' in a voice over, which fits in with the product as GoPro cameras are designed to withstand any adventure. The remainder of the text is footage of various 'adventures' filmed with a GoPro camera, such as a boat going past icebergs, some kind of street car race, swimming with fish, snowboarding and exploring volcanoes. This footage is clearly designed to show the resilience of the camera, as it is waterproof and can withstand the hottest and coldest climates on earth. Much of the footage is from a point-of-view shot, therefore implying that the audience of this video could be doing what is shown on screen. The non-diegetic music in the text is upbeat and energetic, which reinforces the idea that life is an adventure. The video ends as it began, implying a cyclical narrative, meaning that this kind of experience will happen over and over again.
Brand Identity: The brand of GoPro are clearly representing themselves as adventurous, as every shot in the video is of some sort of adventure to another country, or participating in some sort of extreme sports, so the brand clearly wants to be seen as outgoing and want to encompass people of all walks of life into their product.
Narrative: There is little narrative to the video other than the cyclical nature, which shows that adventure never ends, as the video closes with the same close up shot that it opens with.

Shark Wheel Promotional Video

Target Audience: Skateboarders aged 15+
Mode of Address: The video starts off with footage of people skateboarding, then goes on to explain how the wheel works, shows more footage of people skating and explains some features of the wheel, and finally showing user testimonials.
Technical Conventions: The video opens with a shot of the company's logo, which is designed to look like the wheel itself. The logo for the company is 'We reinvented the wheel. Literally.' which plays on the idea that people have often stated that they have reinvented the wheel when creating a new piece of technology, however this company has literally done what most people thought was impossible. The video opens with a narrator asking the question 'what if someone reinvented the wheel, what would it look like?' and then a number of interviews with people exploring what they believe a reinvented wheel would look like,with some ideas not far from the truth, someone saying 'wavy lines I guess' and someone else saying 'square if anything'. For some reason, maybe comical value, the company decided to add a non-diegetic excerpt from Pulp Fiction, with Jules Winnfield saying 'that is a tasty burger' in the narration.  In the video, they explain how an inventor made a shape that is a mixture of a sphere and a cube and inspired by the sine wave created these wheels. There is a lot of footage of people skateboarding, so a potential customer can see how the wheels actually perform when on a board. During the testimonials section of the video, there are a lot of interviews with skaters who use shark wheels, as to attract potential customers. There are also quotes from sources such as LA weekly describing the successful nature of these new wheels, so not just skateboarders comments are used but also official corporations. The video closes with a man skating on screen, and saying to the camera 'sunshine or rain, all terrain, I ride my shark wheels', which is an effective way to pull in customers.
Brand Identity: The company want to be seen as friendly, everyday skateboarders, however also want to be seen as professional in order to attract customers. They do this well by blending the testimonials nicely with facts and figures from tests.
Narrative: The narrative is as stated in Mode of Address, closing with the same shot it opened with, implying that there will always be skaters and also that the wheel will never stop turning.

Freud's theory in 'Ferris Beuller's Day Off'

The 1986 film, written and directed by John Hughes entitled 'Ferris Beuller's Day off' is a classic text that has gained a cult following and is still widely honoured throughout the world of film even today, 30 years after the release of the film. The text follows the reckless Ferris Beuller, as he takes a day off school and uses it to have a day unlike any other with his beautiful girlfriend, Sloane, and emotionally unstable best friend, Cameron. Throughout the text, it is obvious that Ferris portrays the Id in Freud's theory of the structure of the personality, though his reckless behaviour. Cameron is clearly the Superego in the text and Sloane acts as the Ego.
The initial quality that I believe labels Ferris as the Id is the sole fact that he comes up with a grand scheme in order to take the day off school, something that an Ego or Superego would never consider. What makes Cameron different, however, is the fact that he has a legitimate reason to be off school, as he is genuinely sick, as opposed to Ferris. Sloane gets out of school due to a scheme of Ferris', in which he phones the school pretending to be her father, therefore furthering the idea that Ferris is the Id, and as Sloane does not have an actual reason to be out of school she cannot be the Superego, but she goes along with the plan, making her the Ego. The next factor in Ferris representing the Id is the fact that he convinces Cameron to 'borrow' his dad's 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, to which Cameron is very reluctant, almost definitely due to the abusive nature of his father, which is never explicitly stated but is hinted towards throughout the film, which could have lead towards his Superego tendencies, as he constantly lives in fear of what his father thinks of him. Sloane takes no part in the 'theft' of the Ferrari, therefore furthering the idea that she is the Ego. At one point in the text, Ferris gets on a parade float and performs a rendition of The Beatles' "Twist and Shout", proving that he is reckless and does not consider consequences, as anyone could have recognised him and reported back to the school, especially considering the 'Save Ferris' rally that started at the school due to him being 'ill', as he is the most popular person at the school. After the trio leave the Ferrari with a couple of reckless valets who go on a joyride in the Ferrari and the mileage counter skyrockets, Cameron goes into shock, thinking that his father will kill him, and even tries to commit suicide by drowning in a swimming pool, where Ferris saves him. After this moment, Cameron starts to embrace some of Ferris' reckless nature, and they devise a scheme to reduce the mileage counter by driving in reverse (which does not work), and Cameron then decides to get his revenge on his abusive father by kicking the car repeatedly, causing a dent, but the car then comes off what is propping it up and reverses out of his father's showroom and is destroyed. Cameron's timid nature is then overwhelmed, as he laughs and says that his dad deserves this, therefore he slips into more of an Ego role at this point in the text, as he still contains some qualities of the Superego, but with some of the qualities of the Id.
The one factor that I believe, above all else, proves that Ferris acts as the Id is the sheer fact that he breaks the fourth wall constantly throughout the text, something which no other character does. This fourth wall breaking proves that Ferris does not abide by normal social conventions, and gets across the point that he doesn't care for societal standards, ultimately proving that he is the Id in this text.
Some theorists have claimed that in the text, Ferris does not actually exist, almost exactly like Fight Club, and that Cameron created him in order to gain the confidence to speak up to his father, which give a completely different twist on the film and is a good, yet odd theory, but I believe that that is all it is, a theory, due to the fact that throughout the narrative, people are rallying for Ferris, the principle of the school practically stalks him and breaks into Ferris' house, but some people state that the whole text happens in Cameron's mind. The monologue at the start of the text shows Ferris explaining to the audience how to get away with taking a day off school. In this scene, the camera is positioned as if we are in the room with Ferris and are having a conversation with him. In this scene, he states 'I don't condone fascism, or any ism for that matter. Isms in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an ism, he should believe in himself', which is a very Id thing to say, saying he does not believe in any kind of politics, that he believes in people, similar to the morals of Tyler Durden in Fight Club.
The placement of the characters in the text also displays this ideology. In the scene where they are driving in the Ferrari, Ferris is driving, as an Id would drive a stolen car, Sloane is in the passanger seat, due to her being the Ego, the middle ground between Ferris and Cameron, and Cameron is seated in the back due to the Superego being a subconscious force in the recesses of the mind. Editing throughout the text is consistent and usually are straight cuts, as to portray realism in the text, as it takes place in the 'real world', therefore a sense of realism is used within the edits.
Conclusively, I believe that this text does an excellent job in portraying the roles of the Id, Ego and Superego, as the trio fit into their respective roles perfectly.

Freud's theory in 'Enemy'

Dennis Vileneuve's 2013 film 'Enemy', starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is seen to portray Freud's theory of the Id, Ego and Superego. At the beginning of the text, we meet Adam Bell, a History Teacher in a Toronto university. Adam is shown as a very timid man, who has trouble holding down meaningful relationships, yet lives with his girlfriend Mary. One of his colleagues recommends a film to Adam, in which he sees his Doppleganger, Anthony Saint Claire, who has played a few minor roles in a couple of movies. Adam stalks Anthony, and manages to track him down to his apartment where he lives with his pregnant wife, Helen. Adam also manages to get his phone number, so they arrange to meet after much trial and error on Adam's behalf. Throughout the text, there are various subtle hints towards the fact that they are the same person, such as a torn photo in Adam's apartment, clearly from a break up, however later we see the same photo in Anthony's apartment, untorn, showing him and his wife.
I believe that in this text, at some points both Adam and Anthony can be seen as the Id or the Superego, although they mainly just portray their respective roles, as initially Adam seems to portray Superego characteristics, such as being timid and having a job where he is in control, as he is a teacher, and control is a major factor to the superego, and he also dresses formally. Anthony, however, is shown to be more reckless, as he rides a motorbike and dresses in leathers for the majority of the film. At one point in the narrative, they decide to trade places, Adam stays in Anthony's apartment with his wife, and Anthony goes on a date with Adam's girlfriend. In this scene, Adam definitely portrays the superego, as he seems grounded in this role, however Anthony portrays the Id as he argues with Mary whilst driving, causing both of their deaths in a car crash. The fact that it is Anthony's idea to trade places for a day shows him as being reckless as he does not think about the consequences of his actions and how their respective partners will react to this situation. Contrarily, however, the fact that Anthony is married and his wife is pregnant seems to adjust which roles they portray, as Adam is essentially a persona created by Anthony in order to cheat on his wife, so it could be argued in this instance that Adam is the Id, however I believe the other factors overweigh this in terms of labelling either of them as the Id/Ego. Also, the fact that the first thing we see in the text is Anthony at a strip club, where he is handed a key. After Anthony's death at the conclusion of the text, Adam essentially becomes the Ego, as his Id persona is dead. He finds the key that Anthony got from the strip club, and tells his wife that he is busy tonight, therefore implying that he is going to the club and therefore embracing some of the characteristics from the Id. The closing shot of the film is Adam walking into the bedroom where his wife is and seeing her as a giant spider, something which has been prominent throughout the film, as spiders play a big role.
In the text, we encounter a few other 'Superego' characters, the most notably Adam's mother. His mother tries to talk Adam out of his beliefs of another man through the simple quotes 'give up on your dream of being an actor' and 'The last thing you need is meeting strange men in hotel rooms, you already have trouble sticking with one woman, don't you?'. In the latter of these quotes, she is clearly talking about his affair on his pregnant wife with Mary, however this subtle hint towards them being the same person could easily be overlooked by a passive audience.
Lighting and framing is vital in this film, as in the scene where Adam and Anthony meet for the first time in the hotel room, Anthony is lit much more low-key than Adam, who is lit quite naturally through the window, which emanates the darkness within Anthony, and perfectly represents him as the Id and Adam as the Superego. The mise-en-scene of each character also perfectly portrays their respective roles, as Anthony dresses mostly in black, with his leather jacket being prominent throughout the text, whilst Adam wears a tweed suit jacket with beige trousers and a white shirt and black tie, which is much lighter than the attire of Anthony, clearly showing him as the Superego. However, in the climax of the film, when Anthony is killed and Adam becomes the Ego, he wears a black suit, a compromise between the suit that Adam wears and the black jacket that Anthony wears, showing that he has embraced some of the darkness within him and also showing that despite all that he has been through in the film he will never change his deceitful and manipulative ways.
Overall, I think 'Enemy' does an effective job of portraying the Id, Ego and Superego, due to the fact that Adam and Anthony fit into their respective roles of the Superego and Id quite comfortably.

Id, Ego, Superego in Fight Club

Throughout David Fincher's 'Fight Club', starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, there are frequent references to Freud's theory of the personalty. In the text, the two protagonists clearly portray two of the roles of the theory, with The Narrator being considered as the Ego, and Tyler Durden representing the Id. The Superego, however, is slightly more difficult to label, as throughout the film there are multiple Superegos. Initially, The Narrator is seen to be suffering from insomnia, so he attends multiple self-help groups in order to show himself that there are people much worse off than he is. One of these groups is 'Remaining Men Together', a support group based around men who have suffered with testicular cancer and have had to have their testicles removed. It is here, in the basement of the Trinity Episcopal Church that Jack(aka The Narrator) discovers that through crying he is able to sleep again at night, so it could be argued that these self-help groups act as a Superego to Jack. However, later in the narrative of the text, Marla Singer starts to attend these same classes, and (in the words of Jack) 'Her lie reflected my lie. Suddenly, I felt nothing. I couldn't cry, so once again I couldn't sleep'.

Part of Jack's psyche splits, and he starts to encounter Tyler Durden, meeting him on a business trip, where Jack notices that they have the same briefcase. An event in which Jack's apartment, containing his 'Ikea lifestyle', is blown up causes Jack to call Tyler and they meet up at a bar, where Tyler tells Jack to 'hit me as hard as you can'. After this initial fight, the duo decide to start a weekly 'Fight Club', where men get together and fight in parking lots and basements, having to abide to the ten rules of Fight Club, with the first two rules being 'You do not talk about Fight Club'. These weekly meetings start to replace Jack's desire to cry, as the adrenaline coursing through his veins allows him to feel again, and therefore allows him to sleep. Due to this fact, the Fight Clubs become Jack's Superego, as they ground him to reality and allow him to function as a normal person, as his insomnia becomes less prevalent.

Some people argue that Marla Singer is a superego in the film, as she is part of the reason that Jack discovers that he and Tyler are the same person, and also acts as Jack's only real friend, however I believe that Marla cannot be a Superego, as she is seen to smoke constantly, she steals clothes from laundromats and sells them on, and she is also the reason that Jack is unable to sleep, as she invades his privacy in the self-help groups, all of which are qualities that a Superego would not have. One scene in the narrative clearly conveys Jack as the Ego and Tyler as the Id through the use of mise-en-scene, this scene is when Jack and Tyler initially fight in the parking lot of a bar, and there is a medium-long two shot of Jack and Tyler, with bins behind them. The mise-en-scene in this shot shows Jack as organised, as behind him is a dumpster, whereas Tyler's side contains a large pile of bin bags, therefore Jack can be seen as organised trash, whereas Tyler is shown as chaotic mess. The mise-en-scene also gives us an insight into both of their personas, as in this scene Jack is wearing formal business attire, whereas Tyler wears a leather jacket and an 80's style shirt, much more casual and therefore reinforcing the idea that Tyler is the Id to Jack's Ego.

The editing in the text and placement of characters within the frame is a vital component in understanding the polysemic narrative in Fight Club. Throughout the text, before Jack meets Tyler, we see superimposed images of Tyler frequently, which implies from the offset that Tyler is just a figment of Jack's imagination. Also, in the scene at the air port, when we see Tyler for the first time (outside of the single frame super-imposed images), The Narrator states 'if you can wake up in another time and another place, could you wake up as another person?' just as Tyler goes past him the other way on a conveyor belt, but the low-angle shot makes it appear as if he is coming out of his head, which is essentially what Tyler does in the text. Also, in the aforementioned scene in the car park where they first fight, they are placed on opposite sides of the frame, therefore showing the two halves of The Narrator's psyche.

Film Studies Psychological Research and Analysis

For this topic, I am intending to study 3 films. The 3 texts I have chosen to study are David Fincher's 1999 film based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, 'Fight Club', Starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, Dennis Villeneuve's 2014 film 'Enemy' based on the novel 'The Double' by José Saramago which stars Jake Gyllenhaal, and Darren Aronofsky's 2011 film 'Black Swan' and I will by applying Freud's theory of the structures of the personality, the Id, Ego and Superego, to these texts.
In Fincher's 'Fight Club', Edward Norton's character of The Narrator clearly portrays the role of the Ego, as he is shown to embody both the traits of the Id and the Superego, as he enjoys bouts of violence, but later in the film we see him strive for control as Tyler'd plans spiral out of his control. Tyler Durden is clearly the Id in this example, as all he wants is to cause chaos, following his desires for violence, sex, masochism, brutality and ultimately terrorism. Throughout the text, there are multiple Superegos as Jack, or The Narrator, follows Tyler through his path of mayhem. Initially, one could argue that the self-help groups that Jack attends are his Superego, as they allow him to compose himself by crying which allows him to sleep at night. I have heard of people arguing that Marla Singer is a superego within the film, however she does display many qualities of the Id, such as stealing, having sex, smoking and lying, and she is ultimately what causes Jack to no longer feel satisfied by the self help groups, as her lies of having cancer or another terminal illness emanate his own lies. After these groups, Fight Club becomes The Narrator's Superego, as they are what now give him release from his mundane life, and he stops going to the self help classes due to his addiction to fight club and the adrenaline rush he gets from it.

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'

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.

Laura Mulvey- The Male Gaze

The Male Gaze is a theory first published by Laura Mulvey in her paper 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' in 1975. The theory states that as an audience, we view texts from the perspective of a heterosexual male. In modern mainstream media, most protagonists are seen to be male, with only 12% of protagonists in 2014 being female. Much of the texts that contain a male protagonist contain fragmented shots of female bodies, with the sexualised parts of their bodies often being captured in extreme close ups, which can almost make an audience feel as if women are objects to be desired. Throughout narrative cinema, women are often only known for their marital status or their relationship to the character, for example in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' (1958), the lead female role of Madeleine is the wife of an acquaintance of the protagonist, Scottie, and later becomes involved with Scottie. Most males, however, are seen in an active working role or are known for a job, such as in this text, with Scottie being an ex-detective, whereas we have no inclination that Madeleine has a job, so as an audience we just assume she is reliant on her rich bureaucrat husband, a typical stereotype for women in film. Women are often just displayed as just something to look at in media, with them often being used for voyeuristic and scopophilic tendencies. Throughout the classic British spy film series, James Bond, women are often used by James for sex, or for him to manipulate them into doing his bidding. Often, before Bond has even encountered these women face to face, we are shown shots of him watching them through binoculars or even stalking them, as often throughout the texts women are either working for the villain, or play no real part in the narrative and are just placed in the text for men to gawk at them. In 'Drive', Nicholas Winding Refn's 2011 film, there is a scene in which The Driver is torturing a man in the back room of a strip club, and in the background of this scene we are shown many topless women. A question that comes to mind is 'why did Winding Refn decide to shoot this scene in a strip club?' well the answer is obviously not for any real purpose in the narrative, but for male audiences to be appealed by the almost naked women surrounding the action.

However, there are other types of gaze we have to consider here, The Female Gaze, and The Queer Gaze. This type of gaze can quite clearly be seen in Magic Mike, with an array of fragmented shots of male bodies, and in 'The Place Beyond The Pines', the opening sequence is entirely fragmented shots of Ryan Gosling's bare torso as he works on his bike, shots that seem to be inspired by Kenneth Anger's 'Scorpio Rising', a short experimental film which clearly uses the Queer Gaze, due to the fact that this film was intended for Anger to express his homosexuality, but to also defy religion and democracy.

How was the Dogme 95 movement influenced and how has it since influenced directors?

The new wave of Dogme 95 was created in order to re-introduce realism into cinema, as they believed that cinema was becoming 'illusions via which emotions can be communicated'[1]. Dogme 95 is a new wave first introduced by Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, two Danish directors who wanted to bring realism back into modern cinema, so came up with a manifesto that directors must follow if they want to be considered part of the 'Dogme Brotherhood', a sect of 4 directors, Von Trier, Vinterberg, Soren Kragh-Jacobsen and Kristian Levring. There are 10 rules a director must follow if he intends to make a Dogme film, and these rules are as follows: 1- A director must not be credited 2- All camera work must be handheld 3- All shooting must be done on location, no sets or props are permitted 4- All sound must be Diegetic(come from the film) 5-no superficial action is allowed(no guns, murders etc) 6- the film must be in colour, no special lighting is allowed 7-No optical effects or filters are allowed 8- no temporal or geographical alienation is allowed (must take place in the here and now) 9-Genre movies are unacceptable 10- the film must be in academy 35mm ratio. A key aspect of the Dogme 95 manifesto is that they believe that Auteur theory is Borgeois romanticism and is false, and when a director agrees to the rules they are no longer an artist, they are part of a collective, hence the rule that Directors must not be credited, as they must 'refrain from personal taste'[9]. The three films within this movement that I will be studying are Dogme 1: Festen, or The Celebration(1998)[2], Dogme 2: The Idiots(1998)[3] and Dogme 18: Truly Human(2001)[4], with reference to the US Dogme film, Dogme 6: Julien Donkey-Boy(1999)[5] to see how the style differs from the 'traditional' European Dogme films.





Festen was the first film to use the Dogme 95 manifesto, and even then at times it would not follow all of the rules laid out, as in the speech scene there is a Non-Diegetic score added to build tension for Christian's speech and Vinterberg also admitted to covering a window in one scene and even using special lighting, therefore going against at least 3 of the rules that Vinterberg himself and Von Trier had presented at the Cannes film festival in 1995. Åke Sandgren's 2001 film, 'Truly Human', also breaks one of the rules of Dogme 95 in the scene at the beginning of the film where Lisa is talking to her imaginary older brother P(or Ahmed) behind her wallpaper and we see a shot from his 'perspective' where everything is in negative, which subverts the rule that 'No optical effects or filters are allowed', which is also broken later on in the narrative when P becomes a real human and imagines he sees Lisa, and she is superimposed into the frame. Truly Human also breaks the rule that 'All sound must be Diegetic', as in the scene after Ahmed becomes real and is walking backwards through traffic and there is the non-diegetic sound of a child's music box playing, which shows the childlike state of Ahmed's mind. In 'The Name of This Film is Dogme 95'[6], a documentary narrated by Richard Kelly, there is an interview with Harmony Korine in which they discuss the fact that he had to use a prop when Chloe Sevigny got pregnant in the narrative and at this point Korine and Sevigny were romantically involved so Korine says 'I tried to get her pregnant, I wouldn't call it a sin cuts I really tried but I was just firing blanks' after Thomas Vinterberg criticised him saying 'There was one thing that definitely wasn't Dogme, the fact that she wasn't pregnant'. When von Trier was questioned in an interview regarding how he 'disregards the rules and makes new ones', he stated that 'I come from a family of communist nudists. I was allowed to do or not do what I liked. My parents were not interested in whether I went to school or got drunk on white wine. After a childhood like that, you search for restrictions in your own life.' and that 'I look for boundaries which restrict my range of activity and aesthetic freedom. Then I can concentrate all my energy in this small space. It's very simple: when you're in a prison, you're in a better position to think about freedom.'[8] Von Trier also stated in an interview 'if you have some limitations when you work... then you are forced to use your imagination' 'you either take control or give it away, these rules are designed for me giving away control'[10]


After the release of the Dogme manifesto, there have been a number of distinct phases throughout the movement, the first of which was apparent from 1995-98, when it was dismissed as a silly attention grabbing stunt, and due to this the Danish Film Institute decided to not supply the brotherhood block funding for the first 4 Dogme films. The second phase became apparent in 1998 with the release of Festen and The Idiots, which clearly established that abidance by the Vow of Chastity’s rules could result in genuinely innovative and worthwhile cinematic works. The third phase was introduced in 1999, when there was an increasingly global circulation of the Dogme concept, and in this phase, the Dogme brotherhood decided 'the director himself is solemnly to declare his adherence to the Dogme manifesto', which happened after they had to decide if Julien Donkey-Boy adhered to the Vow of Chastity[9]. Phase 4 overlaps with the third, seeing Dogme's rule based manifesto extended to other forms of creative expression, such as dance. Lars Von Trier added to this phase by releasing 9 rules of 'documentary', to subvert the non-realistic style of documentaries at the time. 6 Scandinavian directors have made documentaries following this code. By 2001, a fifth phase was apparent, where the term 'Dogme' had become a 'virtue term', used to signify opposition to oppression. By 2002, Dogme had become a 'well-established brand' [9].



Many, if not all of the films that follow the Dogme 95 manifesto cover dark subjects, such as seen in 'Truly Human', which deals with paedophilia as Ahmed/P's only interpretation of real life comes from the mind of a little girl, therefore from P's point of view we understand why later on his childlike mind is often confused for him being a paedophile or mentally handicapped in some way, as he barely speaks in any language and he plays with children because in his mind he is a child, but characters in the film often confuse this with a sexual desire for children, which gets him fired from his job, kicked out of the swimming baths, arrested and even kidnapped and brutally assaulted by a group of men who live in the same block of flats as him. The film also deals with the extremely disturbing topic of a young girl dying, as Lisa dies towards the start of the film, which causes P to become a real human. Not long before the death of Lisa, her parents Charlotte and Walther Thomsen discuss with friends at a dinner party that they had an abortion, and this is why Lisa believes she has an older brother. When Lisa leaves the room, they talk about how they would have been happier without ever having children, which the young girl overhears, and could be the reason she decides to sit in the front seat and is subsequently suffocated by the passenger seat air bag. After the house is demolished and P is brought into Lisa's parent's lives, we see their relationship breaking down as the parents are engaged in affairs and are barely seen together after the car crash, except for the unfortunate incident when they are both supposed to be dating their respective partners but end up being place on the same table by the confused waiter due to them having booked with the same surname. After P is placed in a refugee camp by Walther, he learns some of the basics of being a human, learns some Danish and even gives himself the name 'Ahmed', the refugee camp allocates him with a job at Mr. Stromboli's shoe shop and he is moved into the same block of flats as Charlotte and Walther, which causes some controversy at first but eventually they accept him and begin to confide in him. Ahmed manages to bring out the realisation in each of them how much they miss and love Lisa, which ultimately causes the film to reset to the car crash and this time Lisa survives, but not until after he is investigated by the police as a suspected paedophile (although he doesn't understand sex, as we know from the scene where Tanja comes to his flat and they shower together naked but take the relationship no further) and is then assaulted by a group of men who live in the flat who spray paint the letter 'P' on his back, leaving him on a roadside, after which he goes to a building site and hides in the wall, saying 'Lisa, I don't have to be a real human being anymore', the opposite of his catchphrase throughout the film 'I want to be a real human being'. In the book Purity and Provocation, the authors talk about how 'Sandgren manages to get the viewer to accept and even be intrigued by these rather dramatic ontological shifts in whiten what is otherwise a universe governed by the laws of everyday reality'[7]


Paedophilia and rape is also the topic of Christian's speech in Vinterberg's 'Festen', where he reveals on his father's 60th birthday that his father Helge used to rape him and his twin sister. In this scene when Christian first gives the speech, no one believes him and thinks he is crazy, and Vinterberg states in 'The Name of This Film is Dogme 95' that none of the other characters knew that Christian was going to give this speech, because he wanted them to actually be shocked and react in a normal way, which is essentially the goal of the Dogme movement, to subvert the 'illusion of emotion'. the party continues, but later Christian continues his toast with 'to the man that murdered my sister'. After Helge threatens Christian, they go back and act normally, but during the mother Else's speech, where she calls Christian over imaginative, he interrupts, asking why she never stopped him, recounting an incident where she walked into the study, then goes on to call her a 'cunt'. This incident is seen as the last straw, and Michael and 2 other guests violently escort him from the premises, beating him unconscious and tying him to a tree in the woods. The cinematography within Festen mirrors this dark narrative, as the use of natural lighting gives the film a very dark tone. The mise-en-scene within the film also adds toward this, as all of the characters are wearing black suits, which almost makes the birthday party seem like a funeral, which it essentially is because at the end of the film the family is in such turmoil that the father may as well be dead to the rest of them, especially his children. Festen also deals with the dark subject of adultery, abuse and abortion, as Michael, the youngest son, had in the past had an affair with one of the waitresses. When she talks to him about it she reveals she was pregnant, but 'got rid of it', implying that she had an abortion and you can easily just get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. She tells him 'you're as crazy as your Father' and he beats her unconscious and exclaims 'don't diss my family'. Michael is also the cause of another controversial topic, as he is shown to be racist towards Helene's black boyfriend Gbatokai, as when he turns up in a cab (with a cameo from Thomas Vinterberg as the cab driver) Michael tries to get him to leave, telling him it's a 'private party'. Later in the film, after the two have a quarrel, Michael starts singing the Danish children's song 'Jeg har set en rigtig negermand', or 'I have seen a real negro man' in a racist way to try and offend him, inviting all of the party guests to join him. Yet another dark topic is discussed in Festen in the form of suicide, as Christian's twin sister Linde had recently committed suicide in the family-run hotel where the film takes place by drowning herself in the bath, leaving a note that reveals that she killed herself because the memories of her father's rape had come back to haunt her, which Helene reads towards the end of the film, confirming that Christian's speech was true. After this, a drunken Michael attacks Helge, telling him he will never see his three grandchildren again, confirming that the family is well and truly 'kaput' in Michaels words.


Lars Von Trier's 'The Idiots' also deals with the fairly taboo subject of people 'releasing the inner idiot' or 'spazzing', something which is deemed socially unacceptable, also the topic of public nudity, and people wanting to give the characters homemade 'electro-shock therapy' to cure them of their idiocy by connecting their heads to a car battery.Von Trier has since said that 'After making Breaking The Waves, everyone wants to see number 2 but I can't do that anymore and I don't want to do that because I want to grow up. That's why it's important for me to make a film like The Idiots now and if people don't like it, well, I don't care'[10]



The Editing style of the Dogme 95 movement is often jarring, as can be seen in Festen, as there are often points when there is a cut and the camera completely disregards the 30 degree rule, sometimes even keeping the camera in the exact same place as before the cut. Also, at times there is a cut to a shot with someone/something directly in front of the camera, such as during the dinner scene where there is a cut to one of the waitresses blocking the whole shot. Also, much of the Dialogue contained within this scene is superfluous, as in it gives no insight into the narrative, such as when some of the family members are discussing what kind of soup it is they are eating, with someone saying it is lobster and someone else saying it is tomato. This kind of superfluous dialogue is kept in the film because it shows the realism in the scene, as it shows a real life conversation as much of the dialogue is improvised. The handheld nature of the camera allows the camera to follow a subject, rather than in mainstream cinema where the subject follows the camera. The use of handheld camera is exceptionally prominent in 'Truly Human', as many cuts are done by simply moving the camera quickly into place, so a 'Shot-reverse-shot' will be done by spinning the camera 180 degrees, often breaking the 180 degree rule. Dogme 95 films have a certain fluidity to the camerawork unlike that of any other film movement, as the handheld camera style is utilised so well in the movement. Other, more mainstream films that employ handheld camera are often found to be shaky and jarring, however Dogme 95 has a completely different feel, although some shots are shaky (often action scenes like the fights in Festen) this style is not over used, as well choreographed shots such as fluid cuts like those seen in Truly Human give the film a much more artistic feel than that of mainstream cinema, as a cut sometimes takes place whilst the camera is moving quickly, making seem as if the cut didn't happen at all, which significantly differs to the style of 'Festen', therefore showing the technical style differences between the first/second phase of the wave and the fifth phase that came to be in 2001 the year Truly Human was released, a film which heavily plays with the idea of 'opposition to oppressive realities'[9].




Since the Dogme movement was first introduced, a number of the films have received critical acclaim, such as Festen being nominated for 'best film in a foreign language' at the Golden Globes in 1999 and the BAFTA awards in 2000, winning the Amanda Award for the best Nordic feature film in 1998 and winning a series of Robert awards in 1999[11]. The Idiots was also awarded with a Robert award in 1999 for Best Actress (Bodil Jørgensen), also winning 3 Bodil awards in 1999 for acting, and winning a FIPRESCI prize at the London Film Festival in 1998 'for its attempt to rethink film language and social rules from scratch and willingness to accept the limitations of both its method and cultural assumptions'[12]. Truly Human was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI film festival in 2001, in 2002 it was awarded the Golden Key for best direction at the Art Film Festival, also winning a special mention. Nikolaj Lie Kaas also won a Robert award for best actor in 2002 and the film went on to receive multiple awards at foreign film festivals. The Dogme movement is often regarded as 'low-budget', however the Dogme manifesto does not stipulate anything about budgets, and the budget for Festen is estimated at around $1.3million, proving that because something is Dogme does not necessarily mean it is low-budget[14]. In 1998, when both Festen and The Idiots were released, both Dogme films were selected for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, so the popularity of the Dogme movement could stem from this double exposure. In 1998-99, the Dogme brotherhood invited many established directors, including Spielberg, to join the movement and create a Dogme film, but all of them declined[14]. It could be perceived that the Dogme movement inspired many indie films, most notably of all the Blair Witch Project (1999) which clearly adopted the convention of only using handheld camera, natural lighting and on location shooting, and is even shot in the same format and aspect ratio as traditional Dogme films. The most notable aspect that the Dogme movement brought with it was the recognition of Danish technical prowess and skill, with Danish films now being recognised throughout the globe, with Von Trier even stating in an interview that Danish advertising companies were coming to him and his brotherhood saying that 'it had to be Dogme'[6] and that they believed following the Dogme manifesto would sell their product, with Lars stating that the purpose behind Dogme had just been overlooked, as it was meant to bring realism back to fiction film, not for monetary gain.

It is clear that the Dogme 95 movement had a significant impact when it comes to subverting the typical conventions of mainstream film and questioning the social conventions of reality, such as can be seen in Festen through the subject of an abusive, molesting father, in The Idiots with the topic of normal people acting as if they are mentally handicapped and also in Truly Human through the character of P coming to life, something which could never happen in reality, but in Dogme they make it seem like this is a feasible topic through the use of the 'natural' technical conventions. The realism in Dogme films make these unrealistic, unspoken and explicit topics seem as if they are natural conversation and the movement almost added an element of taboo into mainstream culture, as modern cinema seems to have expanded into a more accepting medium where anything can be talked about, as long as it doesn't affect the real world of human existence where people can live their normal lives and be unaffected by these topics because they are not contained within their day to day routine.

1-Dogme 95(2008) The Manifesto [online] Available from: http://www.dogme95.dk/dogma-95/ 

2- Festen (1998) Film. Directed by- Thomas Vinterberg

3- The Idiots (1998) Film. Directed by- Lars von Trier

4- Truly Human (2001) Film. Directed by- Åke Sandgren

5- Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)Film. Directed by- Harmony Korine

6- The Name of This Film is Dogme 95 (2005) Documentary. Directed by- Saul Metztein

7- Hjort, M
    MacKenzie, S (2003)
    Purity and Provocation: Dogma 95
8-  Nicodemus, K (2005)
     Lars von Trier: 'I am an American Woman'
9- Livingston, P
    Plantinga, C (2009)
    The Rutledge Companion to Philosophy and Film  -Chapter 44, Dogme 95.

10- Lars from 1-10 (1998)Interview. Directed by- Sophie Fiennes and Shari Roman
11-IMDB Festen Awards [online] Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154420/awards
12-IMDB The Idiots Awards [online] Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154421/awards
13-IMDB Truly Human Awards [online] Available from:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0273326/awards
14-Schepelern, P (2013) After The Celebration: The Effect of Dogme on Danish Cinema. Kosmorama. [online] Available from: http://www.kosmorama.org/Artikler/After-The-Celebration.aspx