Month: March 2014

Rolling was a fantastic short film that definitely grasped the ‘moment in time’ aspect that for me makes a short film likeable. Short films don’t really have enough time to create characters or motifs through dialogue alone, meaning that to capture the same moment of emotion needs to be done with a larger emphasis on audio and visual cues. Rolling definitely had one of those moments that made me feel good. The cuts between the present and flashbacks helped the temporal aspect of the film which created a ‘a-ha’ moment which lead to me understanding the meaning behind the toilet paper. The lead males acting was very good for the role of the awkward lovestruck boy however the girls acting was a bit to confronting for what i was expecting of her role. This is an important part that will need to be noted in the production stages of making our short film, continuity and the way the actors are directed will reflect straight onto how the film turns out. Like Paul mentioned, the scene production in some parts of the film wasn’t as good as others. I’m not the biggest fan of critiquing films as it makes you sound like you would make a much better film, which in no means is what I am for but in any case this film is fantastic and definitely makes use of the ‘shortness’ in the short film.

COMMENTS ON CINEMATOGRAPHY

There are some comments from Martin Scorcese referring to frame composition and everything that you include or don’t include in the frame can have an impact how it is perceived or what is expected. I like how Scorcese outlines this as you can tell in his films that everything that can be seen in the frame is very purposeful and has a impact on the scene. This excites me as it will be something that the group will be able to experiment with, we will have control of how we want the audience to act while watching! Makavejev talks of realities both in the frame and out of the frame, there can be an erotic tension on the edges of the frame. All the viewer can do is try to believe what is on the outer space of the frame which can be used in film to create suspense or lead an audience a particular way.

In the film Clown Train, sounds is used effectively to help the viewer understand the narrative spaitially and temporally with certain cues throughout the particular scene. The atmospheric / environmental sounds used creates a very eerie setting and intently creates tension and unease. The wur of the stationary train prior to it shutting down sets the scene and complements the genre. The sudden tribal drums also adds to the tension and intensifies the dialogue of the clown. There are a number of instances that this eerie, minimalist atmospheric sounds can work including in scenes focusing on emotions (including happy) generally in montage sequences. The use of sounds also creates a unique filmic space that helps the viewer understand spatial elements, which is evident when the soundscape changes as it move from inside to the outside of the carriage and vice versa.