This weekend, I finally saw 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. I'm familiar with the Star Wars franchise, like most people, as I saw some of the films and played the video games when I was younger. Over the Christmas holidays, I had a marathon of all six films, as I had never seen every film before all the way through and in the release order, starting with the original trilogy. After familiarising myself with the lore of the series, I thought it was finally time to see the newest installment.
I went with my friend, who is a big fan of the original Star Wars trilogy and who had already seen the film. His verdict was that it was good, but not as good as what he'd heard it was, as the film has been highly acclaimed by many Star Wars fans, unlike the prequel trilogy that came out around fifteen years ago. Although the film has been out for almost a month now, the cinema was still relatively full, which created an excited atmosphere and built my anticipation for the film.
The film itself is about Finn, an ex-Stormtrooper who after his first battle decides to run away, and Rey, a scavenger from an sparse planet. They're brought together by BB8, a droid that holds an important map for the resistance, a team fighting against the First Order, a surfaced version of the Dark Side lead by Kylo Ren and General Hux. In their adventures they are joined by rebellion fighter pilot Poe, as well as characters from the original trilogy such as Han Solo, Chewbacca and Princess (now General) Leia.
I loved this film. I thought it was one of the most charming and enjoyable blockbusters I've seen for a long time, as well as including all the things about Star Wars that made it great. The audience also seemed to enjoy it, laughing at the jokes and quips between characters, and I heard a cheer when Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, is first seen. When I came out of the cinema, my friend said that their opinion of the film had gotten better seeing it a second time, as first he expected a different film, but now he knew what was going to happen he'd found a new appreciation for it. As I had heard spoilers on social media about the film, I wasn't as suprised about some of the plot points, but I don't think this changed my enjoyment of the film.
Overall, I really enjoyed seeing 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', and it has stuck in my mind for the past few days, as well as making a bit more of a true Star Wars fan out of me.
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
My Edit - Planning
For the final part of unit 1 part B of my Arts Award, I will be editing some footage I have shot in two different ways to create different meanings.
I have been around a graveyard and park close to where I live, and filmed myself walking around. I plan to edit this footage in two different ways: first, a creepy edit using techniques often used in horror films such as quick cuts and more ominous shots, and secondly, an atmospheric and almost sad view of the graveyard, using longer, sweeping shots.
I plan to use music in my two edits to further enhance the intended meaning and genre.
I have been around a graveyard and park close to where I live, and filmed myself walking around. I plan to edit this footage in two different ways: first, a creepy edit using techniques often used in horror films such as quick cuts and more ominous shots, and secondly, an atmospheric and almost sad view of the graveyard, using longer, sweeping shots.
I plan to use music in my two edits to further enhance the intended meaning and genre.
Sunday, 3 January 2016
Amy
Over the Christmas holidays, I also went to see another film at The Showroom cinema. As a part of their 'Best of 2015' showings, I went to see Asif Kapadia's 'Amy', a documentary about the singer Amy Winehouse. I had heard her music before, and knew a bit about her life and death due to the extensive media coverage, and so wanted to know more, especially because I knew the film had done very well both commercially and critically. I also knew there had been a negative response about the film from her family, and this made me more curious to see what the film was like.
The documentary follows the life of Amy Winehouse and her rise to fame, as well as her battles with substance addiction. The film starts with video footage of her at fourteen, singing happy birthday at a friends party, singing with a jazz orchestra at sixteen, and then doing her first gigs at eighteen. It follows the making of her first and second albums, and how a lot of the songs she wrote were true stories about her life, as well as her battles with bulimia and self harm, ultimately leading up to her death.
An interesting thing I thought about the film was the way the documentary was made. It is an observatory documentary, though at some points it starts to become a poetic documentary, the words of her songs appearing on the screen, more recent footage of places setting the scene for older stories and the fact that all the interviews are only audio - none of the interviews done exclusively for the film include any visual footage. I thought this method of documentary making was very effective, especially as the audio alone made so we only got her friends and families voices, and no body language or facial expressions, which could make the interviews more reliable, or possibly less as we don't have these things.
To me, although the documentary dealt with a tragic and upsetting story, it was never very sentimental. There was very little to emotionally manipulate the audience, which in a way made it more effective, as it wasn't setting out to make an audience cry, but to tell them a true story. Although portraying her father and ex husband negatively, Kapadia uses stories from her friends, family and doctors to do this, making this negative representation seem more reliable.
To me, 'Amy' was a very interesting documentary. After the film ended and the titles rolled, the whole of the audience sat in silence until the very end, and I was part of this, not quite knowing what to do or say. I went to go see it with my mother, who was also effected by it, one thing I remember her saying was that she couldn't quite believe her parents reactions to the mental illness and eating disorders she had during her childhood. I was glad I went to see it, and I would definitely recommend it, as both a portrayal of the effects of depression and substance dependency, but also as a representation of how the media can be toxic, and negatively effect people's lives in horrible ways.
The documentary follows the life of Amy Winehouse and her rise to fame, as well as her battles with substance addiction. The film starts with video footage of her at fourteen, singing happy birthday at a friends party, singing with a jazz orchestra at sixteen, and then doing her first gigs at eighteen. It follows the making of her first and second albums, and how a lot of the songs she wrote were true stories about her life, as well as her battles with bulimia and self harm, ultimately leading up to her death.
An interesting thing I thought about the film was the way the documentary was made. It is an observatory documentary, though at some points it starts to become a poetic documentary, the words of her songs appearing on the screen, more recent footage of places setting the scene for older stories and the fact that all the interviews are only audio - none of the interviews done exclusively for the film include any visual footage. I thought this method of documentary making was very effective, especially as the audio alone made so we only got her friends and families voices, and no body language or facial expressions, which could make the interviews more reliable, or possibly less as we don't have these things.
To me, although the documentary dealt with a tragic and upsetting story, it was never very sentimental. There was very little to emotionally manipulate the audience, which in a way made it more effective, as it wasn't setting out to make an audience cry, but to tell them a true story. Although portraying her father and ex husband negatively, Kapadia uses stories from her friends, family and doctors to do this, making this negative representation seem more reliable.
To me, 'Amy' was a very interesting documentary. After the film ended and the titles rolled, the whole of the audience sat in silence until the very end, and I was part of this, not quite knowing what to do or say. I went to go see it with my mother, who was also effected by it, one thing I remember her saying was that she couldn't quite believe her parents reactions to the mental illness and eating disorders she had during her childhood. I was glad I went to see it, and I would definitely recommend it, as both a portrayal of the effects of depression and substance dependency, but also as a representation of how the media can be toxic, and negatively effect people's lives in horrible ways.
It's a Wonderful Life
On the Monday 21st of December, four days before Christmas, I went to the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield to watch one of the special festive showings of the classic film, 'It's a Wonderful Life'. I had only seen the film twice before, but it is still one of my favourite holiday films, so I thought it would be good to go see it on the big screen.
The film is about George Bailey, a man who dreams of getting out of his hometown of Bedford Falls to go and travel the world, yet is always held back by his own willing to help the other people of the town. The first half of the film follows his life, until the point where he begins to contemplate suicide on Christmas Eve, where an angel named Clarence intervenes, and shows George how important he is to many people by taking him to a world where he was never born.
The film was named by the American Film Institute as being America's most inspiring film of the last 100 years in 2005, and it is easy to see why - the whole film is about how important compassion and kindness is, and ultimately if you are good to people, they will be good to you. The ending makes it one of my favourite films of all time, and it always makes me shed a few tears and leaves me feeling warm inside.
Although I do love the film, one of its problems is that is does take a while to get going. The first half of the film is mostly just context and setting the scene, telling George's story rather than actually advancing the plot we're introduced to at the start. Although this is necessary for the film's narrative in the second half of the film, it can seem long, especially considering the first time I watched it I only knew about the second half of the film, and thought that was the entire story, and so was confused when the introduction became more than I expected.
However, my first time seeing it on the big screen didn't disappoint. I saw it with my friend who had never seen the film before in an afternoon showing, which was full of people. The audience was of all ages, as the film has a universal certificate, and this helped build the atmosphere in the screening. Everyone laughed along, and even gave the film a round of applause at the end, something which I have never witnessed in a cinema screening, and happily joined in with.
Overall, my experience of watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' at the cinema was lovely, and cemented it's position in my heart as not only one of my favourite Christmas films but as one of my favourite films of all time. I will definitely be checking to see if The Showroom cinema put it on again next December.
The film is about George Bailey, a man who dreams of getting out of his hometown of Bedford Falls to go and travel the world, yet is always held back by his own willing to help the other people of the town. The first half of the film follows his life, until the point where he begins to contemplate suicide on Christmas Eve, where an angel named Clarence intervenes, and shows George how important he is to many people by taking him to a world where he was never born.
The film was named by the American Film Institute as being America's most inspiring film of the last 100 years in 2005, and it is easy to see why - the whole film is about how important compassion and kindness is, and ultimately if you are good to people, they will be good to you. The ending makes it one of my favourite films of all time, and it always makes me shed a few tears and leaves me feeling warm inside.
Although I do love the film, one of its problems is that is does take a while to get going. The first half of the film is mostly just context and setting the scene, telling George's story rather than actually advancing the plot we're introduced to at the start. Although this is necessary for the film's narrative in the second half of the film, it can seem long, especially considering the first time I watched it I only knew about the second half of the film, and thought that was the entire story, and so was confused when the introduction became more than I expected.
However, my first time seeing it on the big screen didn't disappoint. I saw it with my friend who had never seen the film before in an afternoon showing, which was full of people. The audience was of all ages, as the film has a universal certificate, and this helped build the atmosphere in the screening. Everyone laughed along, and even gave the film a round of applause at the end, something which I have never witnessed in a cinema screening, and happily joined in with.
Overall, my experience of watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' at the cinema was lovely, and cemented it's position in my heart as not only one of my favourite Christmas films but as one of my favourite films of all time. I will definitely be checking to see if The Showroom cinema put it on again next December.
Thursday, 17 December 2015
Edward Dmytryk's Rules of Editing
Edward Dmytryk was a film director who was famous for his film noirs in the 1940's. He directed 53 films in his career, as well as being nominated for several awards. After his career as a director, he taught and lectured about film and directing at a few universities in the USA, and wrote several books on filmmaking.
In one of his books,'On Film Editing', he outlines seven rules for editors;
1. Never make a cut without a positive reason
The next shot should do something to help further the narrative or influence the audience, better serving the purpose of the filmmakers intentions. A cut shouldn't be unrelated or unnecessary.
2. When undecided about what frame to cut on, cut long rather than short
This makes it easier to cut later if you change your mind. This rule would have been especially important when film was on tape which had to be cut to edit, as to make the shot longer again would have meant taping the tape back together.
3. Whenever possible, cut in motion
This is the idea of an action match - of a movement starting on one shot and after the cut, ending in another shot. This makes the action seem fluid and natural.
4. The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'
This means that a cut should be made before it is left too long - it's better to show 'fresh' material than linger on something when the actor has left or finished what they were doing.
5. All scenes should begin and end with continuing action
Scenes should never start with the actors waiting to act - they should be in the middle of another action rather than waiting for the scene to start. This keeps audience interested, as well as the scene seeming more realistic.
6. Cut for proper values rather than proper matches
If a cut is dramatically correct and to the correct rhythm, a bad match can often go unnoticed by an audience.
7. Substance first, then form
Telling the story and provoking audience reaction should always be a higher priority than technique. The human situation and context has to be put first over a stylised edit.
In one of his books,'On Film Editing', he outlines seven rules for editors;
1. Never make a cut without a positive reason
The next shot should do something to help further the narrative or influence the audience, better serving the purpose of the filmmakers intentions. A cut shouldn't be unrelated or unnecessary.
2. When undecided about what frame to cut on, cut long rather than short
This makes it easier to cut later if you change your mind. This rule would have been especially important when film was on tape which had to be cut to edit, as to make the shot longer again would have meant taping the tape back together.
3. Whenever possible, cut in motion
This is the idea of an action match - of a movement starting on one shot and after the cut, ending in another shot. This makes the action seem fluid and natural.
4. The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'
This means that a cut should be made before it is left too long - it's better to show 'fresh' material than linger on something when the actor has left or finished what they were doing.
5. All scenes should begin and end with continuing action
Scenes should never start with the actors waiting to act - they should be in the middle of another action rather than waiting for the scene to start. This keeps audience interested, as well as the scene seeming more realistic.
6. Cut for proper values rather than proper matches
If a cut is dramatically correct and to the correct rhythm, a bad match can often go unnoticed by an audience.
7. Substance first, then form
Telling the story and provoking audience reaction should always be a higher priority than technique. The human situation and context has to be put first over a stylised edit.
Walter Murch's Rules of Editing
Walter Murch is an American sound designer and film editor, and worked with Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas in the 1960's and 70's. As well as this, he is a leading author and educator on the topic of film editing, his book 'In the Blink of an Eye' described as a "manifesto for editors".
Although he encourages experimentation in editing, Murch says that there is essentially six categories to consider when editing, and he even provides a percentage to each category to what their value is to the edit as a whole. He says “An ideal cut (for me) [sic] is the one that satisfies the following six criteria at once.” That criteria is...
Murch emphasises that these rules aren't to be strictly followed, and should be used as guidelines when editing. Emotion and story are the top two priorities when editing, however the others often have to be used to achieve this - Murch likens them to “the bonds between the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom.”The last two rules are also much more relevant to classical editing than some editing in film today, as they are much more about continuity and clarity and space, and are to be followed by editors wanting to edit a film where the edits feel truly invisible. Some editors break these rules to give a different effect to their edit, yet ultimately the edit needs to continue to shape the audiences reaction and emotions, and further the narrative.
1. Emotion (51%)
This is about what emotion you want the audience to feel.
The audience's emotions and reactions should be of key focus to an editor - will each cut prompt the emotion from the audience that the director and the editors intend for that scene?
The high percentage marks the importance of emotion in the edit. A cut that prompts an emotional response from the audience should take precedence over a cut only meant to preserve the narrative's continuity.
2. Story (23%)
This is asking if the cut does anything to advance the narrative.
In films, the narrative is the driving force of the film, so making sure each cut is dynamic and advances the story is vital.
3. Rhythm (10%)
This is asking if the cut occurs at the moment that is rhythmically right or interesting, and not jarring to the audience (unless of course this is the intention).
Often if the rhythm in the cut is right, the editing will look natural and the audience will almost be unaware of the edit.
4. Eye Trace (7%)
This is about how the cut effects the audiences focus in the frame.
A cut should not disorientate the viewer to the extent that their eyes cannot see the action in the next shot happening. Often actors can make this hard due to their movement in a shot.
If the focus of the next shot isn't radically different to the last before the cut, the cut will not be disorientating, again making the audience unaware of the edit.
5. Two Dimensional Plane of Screen (5%)
This rule refers to the 180 degree rule, and how each edit should follow the axis, the imaginary line that connects the two main focuses in the scene. When filming, the camera should only stay on one side of this axis, and in the edit, consecutive shots should also follow this rule.
6. Three Dimensional Space (4%)
This is about if the cut is true to the physical and spacial relationships within the diegesis (the world in which the film takes place). The cut should make sense in the setting of the scene. Murch emphasises that these rules aren't to be strictly followed, and should be used as guidelines when editing. Emotion and story are the top two priorities when editing, however the others often have to be used to achieve this - Murch likens them to “the bonds between the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom.”The last two rules are also much more relevant to classical editing than some editing in film today, as they are much more about continuity and clarity and space, and are to be followed by editors wanting to edit a film where the edits feel truly invisible. Some editors break these rules to give a different effect to their edit, yet ultimately the edit needs to continue to shape the audiences reaction and emotions, and further the narrative.
Friday, 4 December 2015
Suspence in Film
In our film, we use editing to cut the footage to the rhythm of a heartbeat in order to create suspense, as well as speed up the pace of our film with jump cuts in the opening. Many films use editing to create suspense in films. Here are some examples in films I have seen:
Jurassic Park (1993, dir. Steven Spielberg)
The scene with the Velociraptors in the kitchen is famous for being full of suspense. Editor Michael Kahn achieves this with slow, panning shots that don't cut away fast, allowing the audience to see the children in the same room as the dinosaurs. The short close up of the banging ladle allows for the audience to feel the same dread as the children do, as the focus is on that rather than their reactions. The shot of the velociraptors reacting to it before we cut back to the children also allows the audience to see something the children aren't, increasing our knowledge and making us aware of how much danger they are in. At the end of the scene, as Tim runs out the door, the cuts are faster, increasing the pace and tension.
Se7en (1995, dir. David Fincher)
The tension in the climax of 'Se7en' when Brad Pitts character Detective Mills finds out about his murdered wife is achieved through cross cutting. Although both the dialogue between Somerset and Mills and the simultaneous dialogue between Mills and John Doe occurs in the same location, Doe's dialogue becomes almost a monologue, and close up shots are used when cutting between Mills and Somerset's conversation where Somerset is trying to calm Mills down, and Doe's monologue. Editor Richard Francis-Bruce uses this cross cutting of the two simultaneous conversations as well as the soundscape which builds both in use of jarring music and also in volume are used to create tension in this scene.
Goodfellas (1990, dir. Martin Scorsese)
In the film there is a scene where Karen is told by Jimmy to pick up some dresses for him from "around the corner". The instruction is seemingly harmless, yet editing is used to create tension in this scene, and presume that Jimmy is perhaps planning something more sinister. The shot pans from Karen walking down the road to Jimmy by the door, emphasising that he isn't coming with her. A close up tracking shot is used to show Karen's uncertainty, especially as the shot lingers. A tracking shot of the wall by the street, presumably Karen's view also builds tension, as there is nothing there, yet the shot suggests that something may be soon.
Jurassic Park (1993, dir. Steven Spielberg)
The scene with the Velociraptors in the kitchen is famous for being full of suspense. Editor Michael Kahn achieves this with slow, panning shots that don't cut away fast, allowing the audience to see the children in the same room as the dinosaurs. The short close up of the banging ladle allows for the audience to feel the same dread as the children do, as the focus is on that rather than their reactions. The shot of the velociraptors reacting to it before we cut back to the children also allows the audience to see something the children aren't, increasing our knowledge and making us aware of how much danger they are in. At the end of the scene, as Tim runs out the door, the cuts are faster, increasing the pace and tension.
Se7en (1995, dir. David Fincher)
The tension in the climax of 'Se7en' when Brad Pitts character Detective Mills finds out about his murdered wife is achieved through cross cutting. Although both the dialogue between Somerset and Mills and the simultaneous dialogue between Mills and John Doe occurs in the same location, Doe's dialogue becomes almost a monologue, and close up shots are used when cutting between Mills and Somerset's conversation where Somerset is trying to calm Mills down, and Doe's monologue. Editor Richard Francis-Bruce uses this cross cutting of the two simultaneous conversations as well as the soundscape which builds both in use of jarring music and also in volume are used to create tension in this scene.
Goodfellas (1990, dir. Martin Scorsese)
In the film there is a scene where Karen is told by Jimmy to pick up some dresses for him from "around the corner". The instruction is seemingly harmless, yet editing is used to create tension in this scene, and presume that Jimmy is perhaps planning something more sinister. The shot pans from Karen walking down the road to Jimmy by the door, emphasising that he isn't coming with her. A close up tracking shot is used to show Karen's uncertainty, especially as the shot lingers. A tracking shot of the wall by the street, presumably Karen's view also builds tension, as there is nothing there, yet the shot suggests that something may be soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)