In deciding on something to focus on for Friday’s class, I have found myself interested in the idea of expressing emotion but in abstract/non-explicit ways. For example, a series of shots such as a tram moving past the camera (close up), a shot of a crowd, and a long shot of an individual might signify the feeling of insignificance. It’s by no means an original concept, but I think it would be interesting to film and it’s something I’m genuinely interested in doing. I think it leaves a lot of room for creativity and each shot could be quite versatile. I think it is also a great way to learn about filmmaking when there’s a need to visually express something with no context given or dialogue to tell you explicitly what’s going on. I’m not exactly sure what form this would take. I think it would consist of a lot of seemingly abstract shots, however I wouldn’t mind still delving into more structured ways of working that might draw from both documentary and drama.
I think two good (and completely different) examples of this kind of idea can be found in It’s Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt), and the series Being Human (Toby Whithouse).
It’s Such a Beautiful Day is quite abstract, and although stylistically I probably can’t draw a lot from it since it’s animated, it deals with the concept of mental illness by never directly telling you that’s what it’s doing. It starts off being somewhat relatable, as it works in a kind of linear fashion where you only grasp what’s going on through the random thoughts and seemingly pointless anecdotes of the main character, however as the movie goes on you experience the same confusion Bill does as his mental illness starts to interfere with his everyday life, visuals and sound helping to express emotions such as confusion or anxiety or fear and a distortion of reality that is made all the more powerful by the fact that it is the only version of reality you are provided with as the viewer. There are many instances of this in the film that I’d love to talk talk about (the ending is particularly powerful) but for the sake of the blog post I’ll just link one scene below:
Being Human is a lot different, but still interesting in the way it tells its audience about the emotions of its main characters. The show itself is a drama, however the camerawork is reminiscent of reality television and a lot of the time it can look quite low-fi as a result of the constant hand held camera usage. This is done in attempt to ground the show, which focusses on the lives of a vampire, werewolf and ghost sharing an apartment, and gives it the ability to focus on mundane, everyday dramas despite it’s supernatural context. This is made even more complicated by the fact that the characters’ conditions are metaphors for real life problems (vampire – drug/alcohol addiction; werewolf – anger management; ghost – low self-esteem), however for the scene I’m linking below that greater knowledge isn’t exactly necessary. What is interesting about the scene is that the actual plot of the episode isn’t discussed, rather the characters express their feelings about their current situations by arguing about the washing up, and expressing their frustration at a television show being moved. Although the emotions are pretty clear, the context isn’t there, and I like that this is the way you as the viewer are given insight into the character’s state of minds rather than directly as a part of the episodes main plot.
