OTF Reflection 9

I have begun putting together Project Brief 4 and editing the footage for Video 1: One Take Subjectivity. Filming it was not as difficult as I expected due to a few changes I decided on before shooting. I incorporated the first figure, which was my sister listening to music on her headphones as she walked, into the background of the shot to highlight my intentions of the project. She moves from the foreground to the background which visually informs the viewer what this video is attempting. It provides a cohesion to the scene and also adds a familiar element to the background of the friends’ conversation, inviting the audience to search the frame and pay attention the figures that are not the primary focus. I also changed the dog with another person for my sister to interact with as it easier for the viewer to see a back and forth between two human and because they have no dialogue, their friendship and the viewer’s understanding of it is based on body language. Also he was easier to work with than an animal.

I have begun recording ADR for the scene as well but so far it feels to sterile and fake but I will wait until I have all the audio recorded to decide whether or not to use it. I want the scene to feel real so the viewer feels like they are a part of the world, walking down path and seeing the people who inhabit it and it feel more immersive without the perfect audio quality of ADR.

OTF Reflection 8

20150908_165625This is the area I will use for the first video of the first series for Project Brief 4. It not a busy area and is walled on both sides by fences which makes it feel more contained. The path runs through the frame and the camera will follow the path as it explores the area, creating a constant element in a frame that is constantly changing perspective. I was originally going to set up two cameras, one in the position shown above and like the photo shown below.20150908_165555I would have cut between the two in an attempt to muddy the composition of the shot and blur the lines between the background and foreground of the frame. I decided against this as it would be too disorientating for the viewer and would not explore subjectivity the way I want to. Instead, the camera will move through the frame, focusing on various people throughout the run time for different intervals. The aim is to discover if an viewer can impart their subjectivity on more than one figure or action in a frame. Instead of being presented with a protagonist and having the background of the shot be nothing more than cinematic world building, the background figures would have their own story just like real life. Everyone in the frame would be the protagonist, pushing the previous focal points into the background and injecting a sense if humanity and knowledge into the whole of the frame.

 

OTF Reflection 7

This video is based on the discussion we had during our week three class about movement in film. I had always thought of movement in film in terms of camera movement or the object or person on screen. The concept of temporal movement is fascinating as even though the camera is not moving, time keeps ticking by. The cinematic frame is not just a signifier of time, it is time itself, the film’s time. The physical boundaries limit the space of the film but the components of the frame dictate how time moves in accordance to what needs to be portrayed on the screen. Filmmakers use expansion of time (slow motion) to show fast actions at a speed in which the the human eye can see it or use a cut to skip days, weeks or years in a story to move the plot along to the relevant point in time.

With this video I wanted to play with the concept of a still camera and disordered time. Each person was filmed walking down the hallway seperately and then I edited the footage temporally. I slowed it down, I sped it up and I even placed them all within the frame simultaneously to give the illusion that they were walking together. There is a simple montage being shown but behind the lack of camera movement and the spy music the cinematic frame mastery over time.

OTF Reflection 6

I have begun to consider what aspect of the cinematic frame my project will focus on. I will explore how the components of the frame and the elements of mise-en-scene work together to illicit subjectivity from viewers. This idea came from watching Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead and how he sets up the character of Shaun, where he is in life and his trajectory through the rest of the film with the opening shot.ShuanA slow zoom out as the world moves on around him, Shaun is not paying attention to what is right in front of him. The zoom out reveals his signature red tie and the colour is matched by the red liquid in the glass on the bar behind him. This shows that he feels trapped in his current life and the event that will lead him out of his doldrums and force him to grow as a person is about to happen. The colour red has connotations with love and blood and this plays on the audience’s knowledge of genre. They know this is a zombie film and by placing red around Shaun’s neck, the audience are unknowingly informed how the events of the film will change the character.

For my project I will attempt to emulate this shot but add additions to explore how colour influences subjectivity. I will film the same shot numerous times but change the colour of a piece of clothing and an object in the background and see how it effects how the viewer reacts to the character on screen.

References

Wright, Edgar (2004) Shaun of the Dead, Universal Pictures

OTF Reflection 5

I have always been interested in the creation of subjectivity in films because each filmmaker imparts their own subjectivity into their films. Capturing a moment with a camera creates a sense of importance as time is captured in the present to be watched in the future as a relic of the past. “The camera is a past-maker. However, the act of filming itself, to operate, is to look forward” (Zamboni, 2014) and this process does not happen unless there is a person involved. A person chooses when to film, where to point the camera and what to include within the frame, all in order to tell a story and convey a particular subjectivity. Take for instance, the scene from Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011) when the Driver is carrying a sleeping Benicio down the hall to his bed after their day out with Irene. Winding Refn changes the point of view throughout this scene between Irene’s and an omnipresent perspective. An omnipresent viewpoint allows for the viewer to see everything from a detached perspective while still allowing them to emotionally connect with the characters. To aid the viewer to understand how the characters themselves are feeling, the director will place a shot from their point of view between two detached shot which injects the character’s emotions into the frame.Drive 1

This shot from Drive is from Irene’s point of view and the soft lighting of the hallway and the music creates a romantic mood. Irene watches the Driver from behind and we do not see his face, showing the she does not really know who this man is. But the jacket draped over her son highlights how the Driver protects and cares for Benicio placing him in a trustworthy light.

Drive 2

No characters is looking at Irene in this scene and so this shot is for the audience to see how much she cares for the two men in the previous shot, mirrored by the two lights on the wall as they are the only two bright parts of her life. The small smile that plays over her lips creates guides the audience to feel happy for the quasi family, their subjectivity in this scene built by the relationship between real life experiences at how Winding Refn frames his characters.

References

Refn, Nicolas Winding (2011) Drive, FilmDistrict

OTF Reflection 4

Gilles Deleuze states that that ‘the out-of-field refers to what is neither seen nor understood, but is nevertheless perfectly present’ (Cinema 1: The Movement Image, pg. 16). Splitting the understanding of the frame into two layers based on this quote allows us to see how the world of the film influences each individual frame to build the narrative and the characters of the film. The first layer of the frame is what is in the reverse shot which builds up the viewer’s understanding of the space of the scene. During our tutorial, we watched the final shootout of the 1968 Sergio Leone spaghetti western film Once Upon a Time in the West which provides a clear example of the meaning behind the Deleuze quote. This scene is iconic in cinema history from the music, the staging, the acting calibre of Clint Eastwood who has become known for his many roles in Western films and the memorable desert landscape. For example, this close up of Jason Robards during the shootout ensures the audience is aware of what is out of the frame.

RobardsLeone places this shot between wide shots and uses montage to establish the space the shootout will take place. The close up allows the audience to focus on Robards’ eyes as he watches his opponent move through the space. The use of montage informs the audience of is out of field which allows them to visualise what is happening in the reverse shot. The camera slowly moves around Robards’ face to mimic his opponent’s walk to aid this visualisation.

References

Leone, Sergio (1968) Once Upon A Time In The West, Paramount Pictures

OTF Reflection 3

The manipulation of time is unique only to cinema. A photographer may capture a moment and a painter may choose to artistically develop the world they see, yet time can never continue to move in these mediums. ‘The moving image’ defines cinema, as it lends itself to capturing moments, big or small, as they occur through time. Whenever the term ‘slow motion’ is mentioned, most people conjure this scene from The Matrix. This advanced expansion of time technique is referred to as bullet time, The Matrix Bullet Time

which according to the Isaacs was “conceived specifically for The Matrix” to show audiences they were in a constructed, unearthly space. While being some of the more memorable moments in cinema, the opening of Zombieland, the dream destruction at the cafe in Inception, the elevator of blood in The Shining to name a few, expansion of time is not just used for its ability to up the ‘wow’ factor of a shot. An example of this is the scene in American History X where Edward Norton’s character is handcuffed and taken away by police after killing an African-American man.

American History X

Shot to place the audience in Edward Furlong’s point of view, the toll this event will place on the family is placed on display. It is used to capture the range of emotions the character are going through, the rage and hate on Derek’s face as he kills a man, the anguish and shock that Danny feels is felt by viewers. Slow motion in this instance does not allow the audience to escape the horror of this event in real time, thus adding an even further layer of importance and guttural reaction the scene.

References

Kaye, Tony (1998) American History X, New Line Cinema

Wachowski, Andy & Wachowski, Lana (1999) The Matrix, Warner Bros.

OTF Reflection 2

When I was capturing my fifty frames, I found it immensely convenient to be able to whip out my phone and take a picture of something that caught my eye. I thought that not having access to a proper camera would hinder my ability to create frames but the availability of my phone allowed me to capture moments faster than possible with a regular camera. Ever since I was confirmed to be in this studio, I had been collecting photos I had taken in my everyday life, trying to do some hands on research and figure out how to create a beautiful shot. For instance, frames three to six were taken while I was walking my dog. It was a quiet day, the silence filled with only the rushing of the wind and upon climbing up a hill to a rest station, I let my dog wander so I could capture the view in unique ways. I wanted my frames to be grouped or paired together to either show a passage of time or a graphic match between two different views. For example, frames seven to twelve were taken on a weekend away during June and the view over the lake was a perfect back drop for experimentation with capturing a moment. Susan Sontag wrote that there is “a sense that photographs capture reality and not just interpret it” and while I agree with this, I also discovered through this project that there is a sense of personal interpretation to an image. Yes, a frame is developed to guide a viewer through it but two people can look at an image, begin searching it in different locations and arrive at dissimilar conclusion about what they just saw. The beauty of the cinematic frame is that each one can be a personal experience not matter how many others have seen it.

OTF Reflection 1

Discussing films with people who are not as passionate about films as I am, the difference between the ways we approach watching and enjoying movies always surprises me. I have always been taken with beautiful looking movies, always audibly oohing and ahhing at fantastic looking shots and that is why I was drawn to On The Frame. Tuesday’s class was a great introduction to the course and it allowed me to really begin to think about what goes into a visually stunning shot. I rarely stop to consider that every second is made up of (usually) twenty-four frames and being introduced to that way of thinking awoke the connection in my mind to paintings and drawings. Dan introduced the film frame as an “individual snapshot of time” and this connects to Susan Sontag’s views on photography as ‘principle devices for experience something.’ I have always valued candid photographs over staged portraits because it captures a more realistic vision of the event, a more accurate look into the past without put upon smiles and upright postures. Sontag describes photos lend a certain importance to an event and I think expanding on this thought to include the emotional weight each photograph is key to understanding a film’s DNA.

This is one of my favourite shots from Mad Max Fury Road.Mad Max Bike Wheel

It is not a grandiose action set piece, which were spectacular in their own right, but this shot stayed with me after I had left the cinema because it tells the story about the world of the film and George Miller’s creative endeavours all in one frame. The barren wasteland and the costuming speak to the harsh environment while the patterns radiating from the wheel shows how a perverse beauty can be found in every inch of this world if you only looked hard enough.

I mention this to portray how I see film frames and photographs at this moment, at the beginning of this studio. These slivers of time can capture an event, but just like how my friends and I can have differing opinions about what makes a great movie, the core and importance of the film frame is the emotional impact it draws from its audience.

References

Miller, George (2015) Mad Max: Fury Road, Warner Bros. Pictures