Monday 4 December 2017
Mulvey's Theory of the Male Gaze
Mulvey's male gaze theory states that the camera is turned into a heterosexual male as the industry is dominated by males, this is to appease the audience by sexualising women using the camera. This is seen in films and adverts where they use attractive women and using them to turn non-sexual situations into sexual undertones. Through the lens of the camera, women will see what a male looks for in a woman and therefore they will take an influence on how they act and what they wear based on how they want men to see them. It can affect the way women want to see themselves. A study has shown that 60% of heterosexual women have admitted to regularly being attracted to other women. Mulvey's theory was created in 1975 when she made the statement that in order to watch a film, the audience is forced into a position of a heterosexual make in order to fully experience the film. It is often presented in camera movement; the way a camera lingers on the body of a female in a way that is like looking her up and down. The shots used are often longer takes and this is done to prolong the pleasure of looking, known in media as scopophilia.
Sunday 3 December 2017
Analysis of Black Swan Scene using Lacan's psychoanalytic personality theory.
This scene is a prime example of Lacan's theory, Nina (Natalie Portman's character) has an intense jealously in Lily (Mila Kunis's character) due to her carefree nature and her dancing skills. This an example of the theory as it shows Nina's "lack" of what Lily has; done so through the use of camera p.o.v., the camera follows Lily's movements fluidly through tracking, this amplifies how graceful she is. Cutting back to Nina's face with the camera being at a lower angle, you can see the jealously and envy on her face clearly. The camera then jumps back to Lily still dancing along the floor landing in the arms of the lead male. Nina is completely isolated at the start watching showing that she is alone in her envy.
Thursday 30 November 2017
The Lacanianism Theory of Personality.
Lacan's theory of the Mirror Stage is the psychological development in a child in which the child first recognises itself in the mirror for the first time and becomes conscious of their image and self hood. This stage happens between the ages of 6 and 18 months when the child first realises it is individual from others. At this time the child's identity begins to form, it forms one that is distinct from others but at the same time is inspired from the images of others in order to achieve their own personality. This theory inspired the idea of lack and the concept of desire. "Desire is relation to being to lack, the lack is the lack of being properly speaking, It is not the lack of this or that, but the lack of being whereby the being exists."
Sigmund Freud's theory of the Id and the ego forms the foundation of the Mirror Stage, a child forms a sense of identity and discovers separate I and other, by developing the ability to distiguish self from other the child understands that they are unique and not just reliant on others. This occurs before the linguistic stage of childhood. This is reference to the 'Id' structure of Freud's theory of personality as the child has only the most basic and innate human desires. As the child begins development in the linguistic stage, it starts to use language and construct their identity, therefore the child's 'ego' begins to develop as it learns what is socially acceptable and forms morals. It is in this stage that the child subconsciously suffers an initial identity crisis, the sense of identity gives the child a foundation on which they are going to develop their personality. If this fundamental identification is not recognised, the child will resort to using external influences as examples to base their personality upon. Additionally, this will limit the child's ability to develop it's own ego, and therefore result in the child acting more to satisfy the needs of the id structure.
As an additional note, in relation to how we live our lives, Lacan theorizes that throughout our lives after our linguistic development, we will never be satisfied, due to the fact that ultimately we desire to return to the simplicity and convenience of life before we discover our identity, and that as we grow older, we become more comfortable as we come to the realization that what we want will not occur, and so the desire fades.
Sigmund Freud's theory of the Id and the ego forms the foundation of the Mirror Stage, a child forms a sense of identity and discovers separate I and other, by developing the ability to distiguish self from other the child understands that they are unique and not just reliant on others. This occurs before the linguistic stage of childhood. This is reference to the 'Id' structure of Freud's theory of personality as the child has only the most basic and innate human desires. As the child begins development in the linguistic stage, it starts to use language and construct their identity, therefore the child's 'ego' begins to develop as it learns what is socially acceptable and forms morals. It is in this stage that the child subconsciously suffers an initial identity crisis, the sense of identity gives the child a foundation on which they are going to develop their personality. If this fundamental identification is not recognised, the child will resort to using external influences as examples to base their personality upon. Additionally, this will limit the child's ability to develop it's own ego, and therefore result in the child acting more to satisfy the needs of the id structure.
As an additional note, in relation to how we live our lives, Lacan theorizes that throughout our lives after our linguistic development, we will never be satisfied, due to the fact that ultimately we desire to return to the simplicity and convenience of life before we discover our identity, and that as we grow older, we become more comfortable as we come to the realization that what we want will not occur, and so the desire fades.
Monday 27 November 2017
Analysis using Freud's psychoanalytical personality theory.
Within La Haine there are three main characters; Vic, Saïd and Hubert. In regards to Freud's personality theory it is easy to make the distinction as to which character is which, Vic is the Id, known throughout the film to be violent and react unnecessary to things, Saïd is the Ego, being constantly in the middle of Vic and Hubert and is the negotiator. Hubert is the superego because he is lawfully good and is trying to be better than the violence that surrounds him. Within the film sequence there is a clear divide between each of the characters. A technical aspect of this is that they are always framed so that Saïd is in the middle.
As you can see in this medium shot Saïd is placed in the middle of Vinz and Hubert, he is constantly the negotiator within the scenes. Hubert is always on one side and Vinz on the other, Vinz gets pinned by a police officer and the camera is positioned in an over the shoulder shot whereby you see him being confronted by a gun. This is a symbol of the restrictions of society that the Id does not obey, e.g the policeman. When Hubert is running towards him in mid shot, the cuts between his face and his feet are a good example of this because it shows the superego working to keep the Id in check, with the absence of the ego with Saïd out of the picture.
Another example of Freud theory of personality is Fight Club, in the letting yourself become Tyler Durden scene. This is a perfect example of this theory because it clearly shows each of the different personalities. The Narrator is talking to Marla, she can be considered to be the superego as she is the one who is encouraging the narrator to try and understand himself more. Tyler is the opposite of that and he is Id. the narrator the Ego is constantly pulled between the two different personalities. There is a panning shot that shows that the narrator is with tyler in the room. This shot shows Tyler in a chair in a pose of relaxation and he is calm and quiet. The narrator is stood up and panicking when he realises he isn't alone. The shot pans quickly backwards which gives the shot high energy. There is a shot reverse shot of the narrator and Tyler in it which shows that they are the same person, however there is a shot of tyler from the narrator's point of view which doesn't include the narrator which can show that tyler is not aware that they are the same person. Reinforcing the Id, ego idea.
Another example of Freud theory of personality is Fight Club, in the letting yourself become Tyler Durden scene. This is a perfect example of this theory because it clearly shows each of the different personalities. The Narrator is talking to Marla, she can be considered to be the superego as she is the one who is encouraging the narrator to try and understand himself more. Tyler is the opposite of that and he is Id. the narrator the Ego is constantly pulled between the two different personalities. There is a panning shot that shows that the narrator is with tyler in the room. This shot shows Tyler in a chair in a pose of relaxation and he is calm and quiet. The narrator is stood up and panicking when he realises he isn't alone. The shot pans quickly backwards which gives the shot high energy. There is a shot reverse shot of the narrator and Tyler in it which shows that they are the same person, however there is a shot of tyler from the narrator's point of view which doesn't include the narrator which can show that tyler is not aware that they are the same person. Reinforcing the Id, ego idea.
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic personality theory.
The Id is the disorganised, impulsive part of our personality, it contains the humans basic instinctual drive, the Id is present from birth and is the source of a humans bodily needs, wants, desires and impulses; aggressive or sexual. The id houses the libido which is the primary source of instinctual force that doesn't understand the limitations of reality. The pleasure principle is how the Id acts, it aims to seek immediate gratification of any impulse. The Id is unconscious according to Freud.
The Ego is the organised part of the personality structure that includes the defensive, perceptual, intellectual- cognitive and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the go, although not all of the ego's operations are conscious. The ego understands reality and its rules and tries its hardert to keep the Id in check and helps the Id achieve what it wants the way that corresponds to the restrictions set.
The Superego is the moral principles part of personality that is concerned of what other people think and is the complete opposite of the Id. the superego strives to perfect and civilise our personalities. It is the other extreme of the personality.
Usefulness for film analysis:
When this theory is applied to film it can make use understand how different characters can be understood or even constructed to form a narrative conflict. These perspectives can be useful in a critical evaluation of scenes, events and even film narrative in a way that enables the audience or viewer to understand the meanings and motivations of the key characters. Why people act in difficult and different situations and how they respond to others as a result of personal needs and desires.
The Ego is the organised part of the personality structure that includes the defensive, perceptual, intellectual- cognitive and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the go, although not all of the ego's operations are conscious. The ego understands reality and its rules and tries its hardert to keep the Id in check and helps the Id achieve what it wants the way that corresponds to the restrictions set.
The Superego is the moral principles part of personality that is concerned of what other people think and is the complete opposite of the Id. the superego strives to perfect and civilise our personalities. It is the other extreme of the personality.
Usefulness for film analysis:
When this theory is applied to film it can make use understand how different characters can be understood or even constructed to form a narrative conflict. These perspectives can be useful in a critical evaluation of scenes, events and even film narrative in a way that enables the audience or viewer to understand the meanings and motivations of the key characters. Why people act in difficult and different situations and how they respond to others as a result of personal needs and desires.
Thursday 16 November 2017
Health and Safety
A risk assessment analyses what hazard, harm and risk a set-up pertains;
- A Hazard can be defined as anything that has the potential to cause physical injury or damage to health, the environment or to property.
- Harm is the adverse effect on an individual that may result from exposure to a hazard
- A Risk is a measure of the probability of harm being caused and the severity of that harm.
When filming out and about its important to keep all of your equipment safe and make sure non of it gets stolen, if you are filming make sure you are still aware of your surroundings and that you are not near heavy traffic areas etc.
New Wave Short Evaluation
My new wave film is just a rough draft, some improvements I could make to the film are that the editing could be smooth and better laid out, by this I mean that the clips of the film and the pictures would be the same size and match up better so that there are no edges. Also to improve I could followed up on my brief and add some sound to the film, this was going to be a poem, this would add depth to my film because sound is an important factor within telling a story, no matter how obscure or unhollywood they are.
The strengths of my new wave brief are that I believe that it is original and has several aspects of it that make it new wave, for example the use of long takes without cutting make it new wave because it goes against the Hollywood way, another example of my film being new wave is the use of overlapping images, the fact that the whole of the film is like this instead of just a section makes it new wave as it is a constant effect instead of using it to create a moment.
What I have learnt from my new wave attempt are some of the conventions and styles of new wave cinema, how they go against typical hollywood structure and narrative, I attempted to recreate this with my own film. You can see evidence of this from the way my new wave is structured, long takes without cutting or jump cuts with shots of the area and the environment. The overlapping of the images with the film behind it is another example of this because it is showing two images at once and is what is considered messy within the hollywood conventional standards.
The strengths of my new wave brief are that I believe that it is original and has several aspects of it that make it new wave, for example the use of long takes without cutting make it new wave because it goes against the Hollywood way, another example of my film being new wave is the use of overlapping images, the fact that the whole of the film is like this instead of just a section makes it new wave as it is a constant effect instead of using it to create a moment.
What I have learnt from my new wave attempt are some of the conventions and styles of new wave cinema, how they go against typical hollywood structure and narrative, I attempted to recreate this with my own film. You can see evidence of this from the way my new wave is structured, long takes without cutting or jump cuts with shots of the area and the environment. The overlapping of the images with the film behind it is another example of this because it is showing two images at once and is what is considered messy within the hollywood conventional standards.
Monday 13 November 2017
New Wave Video Essay Bibliography
Tom Dewe Mathews on Roberto Rossellini: gambler, sexual adventurer and master film-maker. (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/dec/01/culture.features1)
A history of contemporary Italy; society and politics 1943-1988 by Paul Ginsborg
Roberto Rossellini and his Italian Cinema: The Search for Realism (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/italians/resources/Amiciprize/1996/)
The Neo-realstic Trilogy
The Cinema Under Mussolini
Rossellini's Neorealist Trilogy: The Neorealist Prescription
Roma Città Aperta, Directed by Roberto Rossellini (1945)
Paisa, Directed by Roberto Rossellini (1946)
Germany, Year Zero, Directed by Roberto Rossellini (1948)
Martin Scorsese on the films of Roberto Rossellini
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Sunday 12 November 2017
Evaluation of Video Essay of Italian Neorealism
I created a video essay on Roberto Rossellini and his influence within Italian neorealism, I aimed to talk about his different techniques when creating films that went against the typical conventions, I also aimed to apply context to his films and the techniques used by talking about the end of the war and the repercussions of this that are evident within Rossellini's films. My film contains clips of Journey to Italy, Stromboli and Roma Cita apperta, the process of making this video essay was to gather research and information attaining to Rossellini and of Italy at the time of the Italian new wave, collect relevant clips such as films and interviews with people about Rossellini e.g Martin Scorsese, create a script that contains all of the information I need and that has relevance and structure to it and then record this using a microphone and then edit this all together into my video essay.
The things I think I have done well are that my video essay has a structure and follows a narrative, I added context and content such as the interview with Scorsese that created added depth and perspective and that my clips were well chosen, doing this new wave video essay allowed me to get a greater understanding on the making of a film and conventions and what it means to go against them, with studying Rossellini specifically it allowed me to understand his idea of naturalism and how to fully immerse an audience into your film.
The things I feel like I could improve within my new wave essay is that I think that my audio could have been refined so that there was a perfect balance between the clips audio, the speaker and the music because upon watching it back I found that in some parts it was hard to differentiate and understand what the speaker was saying due to the other audio being too loud. I could have added more detail and analysed the scenes more and spoke more upon the conventions they were showing and given a true idea of what Rossellini was doing, I think I focused too heavily on researching and understanding my new wave that when it came to do the final piece of it I didn't go into as much detail because I was too worried about getting it finished on time, my video became more of a brief introduction to Rossellini and the Italian New Wave rather than a true critical analysis of his techniques and the conventions he went against.
The things I think I have done well are that my video essay has a structure and follows a narrative, I added context and content such as the interview with Scorsese that created added depth and perspective and that my clips were well chosen, doing this new wave video essay allowed me to get a greater understanding on the making of a film and conventions and what it means to go against them, with studying Rossellini specifically it allowed me to understand his idea of naturalism and how to fully immerse an audience into your film.
The things I feel like I could improve within my new wave essay is that I think that my audio could have been refined so that there was a perfect balance between the clips audio, the speaker and the music because upon watching it back I found that in some parts it was hard to differentiate and understand what the speaker was saying due to the other audio being too loud. I could have added more detail and analysed the scenes more and spoke more upon the conventions they were showing and given a true idea of what Rossellini was doing, I think I focused too heavily on researching and understanding my new wave that when it came to do the final piece of it I didn't go into as much detail because I was too worried about getting it finished on time, my video became more of a brief introduction to Rossellini and the Italian New Wave rather than a true critical analysis of his techniques and the conventions he went against.
Thursday 9 November 2017
Contextual Analysis of Roberto Rossellini and his influence within Italian Neorealism
This is my video essay on Roberto Rossellini and his influence in the italian neorealism era, I have done this through analysing scenes from several of his films, looking at his techniques, his views and his input into the new wave of cinema.
Thursday 2 November 2017
New Wave Video Essay Script
Script
Italian Neorealism also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema was a film movement between 1944 and 1952, this new wave came about after the fall of Mussolini's government, Italy lost its epicentre of film, this is due to the loss of funding from the government to create propaganda. The solution to this was to create a new type of film that focuses on the repercussions of the war. Neorealism became the symbol of cultural change and progress. film-makers like Roberto Rossellini wanted to give something new and present, a true reflection and image of italy after the damage of Mussolini and his government. Poverty, famine, oppression, injustice and desperation became common themes in the films.
Roberto Rossellini an Italian film director and screenwriter was one of the most influential directors of the neorealism period. During facist Italy Rossellini created what is now referred to as the Facist Trilogy between 1941 and 1943 which were funded by different propaganda centres within the government. With the collapse of the facist regime and the liberation of Rome, Rossellini began to write and produce Roma Cittá aperta (1945, Rome, Open City), This would become the start of the neo-realistic trilogy. Followed by Paisá (1946) and German, Year Zero (1948) make up the other two films. The funding for these films came from small loans and were originally circulated on the black market due to their anti-facist stance.
Rossellini used non-professional actors in his films but often struggled to find faces he deemed as interesting. He says in an interview that in order to really create the character one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle with the actor which usually means submitting to the actors wish and I have no desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally. He is acknowledged as the father of italian neo-realism, he introduced the world to naturalism with Rome, Open City. He then began to change the way we look at films three years later, with Stromboli and Journey to Italy, he aimed to get his audience to understand and engage with the actors through exploring their surroundings with them on screen rather than simply identifying with them. This went against the conventional Hollywood method, Rossellini claimed that with his film one watches with his own eyes. Scorsese states in the preface of his book Roberto Rossellini: Magician of the Real that few film makers at this stage of their lives or careers were as adventurous or ambitious and that Rossellini's goal was nothing less than to educate the entire world.
With Rossellini, however, there was always a distinctive method to the seeming madness. The same year he made Journey to Italy, he fought against the idea of planned scripts like Hitchcock. For realistic films, he insisted that inspiration and spontaneity were what mattered. He is quoted famously saying "An author writes a sentence or page, then crosses it out. A painter uses a red, then paints it out with a green. Why shouldn't I be able to cross things out too, to remake and replace film? This is why I don't think you can have a fixed script. If I thought you could, I'd think of myself as a scriptwriter. But I'm not a scriptwriter. I make films."
With his film Pasiá took one step further toward a revolutionary style of film making. He would place his cameraman in the middle of the main square in a rural town and choose his actors from the inquisitive faces of the people who came to see the camera, With the main theme of the script of this film is the interaction between two foreign cultures. After the death of his son in 1946, Rossellini's next film Germany Year Zero was full of pain, violence and pessimism, it became an attempt to discover through death the reason for living. It was financed and supported by a french production house and filmed in the countries berlin sector. Like his previous film he tried the same technique of putting a camera man in the centre of the square but was surprised when nobody came to watch.
Russollini was a visionary director who brought naturalism to light in cinema and becomes a god of the italian neorealism age, being a diving force behind this movement he created works of art that really captured and created a true image of Italy and the inner deeper darker parts of a human being and how to connect with them through the things that surround them.
"a spirit rehabilitation of an entire culture"
Italian Neorealism also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema was a film movement between 1944 and 1952, this new wave came about after the fall of Mussolini's government, Italy lost its epicentre of film, this is due to the loss of funding from the government to create propaganda. The solution to this was to create a new type of film that focuses on the repercussions of the war. Neorealism became the symbol of cultural change and progress. film-makers like Roberto Rossellini wanted to give something new and present, a true reflection and image of italy after the damage of Mussolini and his government. Poverty, famine, oppression, injustice and desperation became common themes in the films.
Roberto Rossellini an Italian film director and screenwriter was one of the most influential directors of the neorealism period. During facist Italy Rossellini created what is now referred to as the Facist Trilogy between 1941 and 1943 which were funded by different propaganda centres within the government. With the collapse of the facist regime and the liberation of Rome, Rossellini began to write and produce Roma Cittá aperta (1945, Rome, Open City), This would become the start of the neo-realistic trilogy. Followed by Paisá (1946) and German, Year Zero (1948) make up the other two films. The funding for these films came from small loans and were originally circulated on the black market due to their anti-facist stance.
Rossellini used non-professional actors in his films but often struggled to find faces he deemed as interesting. He says in an interview that in order to really create the character one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle with the actor which usually means submitting to the actors wish and I have no desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally. He is acknowledged as the father of italian neo-realism, he introduced the world to naturalism with Rome, Open City. He then began to change the way we look at films three years later, with Stromboli and Journey to Italy, he aimed to get his audience to understand and engage with the actors through exploring their surroundings with them on screen rather than simply identifying with them. This went against the conventional Hollywood method, Rossellini claimed that with his film one watches with his own eyes. Scorsese states in the preface of his book Roberto Rossellini: Magician of the Real that few film makers at this stage of their lives or careers were as adventurous or ambitious and that Rossellini's goal was nothing less than to educate the entire world.
With Rossellini, however, there was always a distinctive method to the seeming madness. The same year he made Journey to Italy, he fought against the idea of planned scripts like Hitchcock. For realistic films, he insisted that inspiration and spontaneity were what mattered. He is quoted famously saying "An author writes a sentence or page, then crosses it out. A painter uses a red, then paints it out with a green. Why shouldn't I be able to cross things out too, to remake and replace film? This is why I don't think you can have a fixed script. If I thought you could, I'd think of myself as a scriptwriter. But I'm not a scriptwriter. I make films."
With his film Pasiá took one step further toward a revolutionary style of film making. He would place his cameraman in the middle of the main square in a rural town and choose his actors from the inquisitive faces of the people who came to see the camera, With the main theme of the script of this film is the interaction between two foreign cultures. After the death of his son in 1946, Rossellini's next film Germany Year Zero was full of pain, violence and pessimism, it became an attempt to discover through death the reason for living. It was financed and supported by a french production house and filmed in the countries berlin sector. Like his previous film he tried the same technique of putting a camera man in the centre of the square but was surprised when nobody came to watch.
Russollini was a visionary director who brought naturalism to light in cinema and becomes a god of the italian neorealism age, being a diving force behind this movement he created works of art that really captured and created a true image of Italy and the inner deeper darker parts of a human being and how to connect with them through the things that surround them.
"a spirit rehabilitation of an entire culture"
Sunday 22 October 2017
Thursday 12 October 2017
Lighting Skills
Lighting
Studio Lighting Techniques
Rembrandt Lighting is a lighting technique can be achieved by using one light and a reflector or two lights at different settings to create a shadow under the eye, this is a popular technique because although it is simple it can help a picture become interesting with little skill or equipment.
Studio Lighting Techniques
Edge lighting is a technique that is used to create subtle lighting edges on the subjects face, edge lights are aimed at the camera and so the user has to be careful to keep any light from shining into the front of the lens and stop any lens flares.
Butterfly lighting is one of the most used and oldest techniques for highlighting a face, this is named after urge shadows it creates when lighting up the subject, the light creates a butterfly shaped shadow which forms underneath the subjects nose, this setup is proven method to secure your subject is lit well.
Interview Lighting
Interview Lighting
Monday 9 October 2017
Bristol New Wave Short Brief
New Wave Brief
After studying the Italian Neorealism new wave cinema movement, I have been inspired to create my own new wave film. After studying three of Roberto Rossellini's films I have decided to do my new wave film on everyday life but focusing on groups, this is paying homage to Rossellini because for his neorealism trinity he would place a camera into a busy square or a high traffic area and then chose his actors through their expressions and inquisitive looks into the camera. My new wave is going to take place in Bristol, I am going to take a number of shots of my group travelling to Bristol, some shots of Bristol and then some shots of the city itself. My film is going to be roughly around 2 to 3 minutes long and is going to follow a non-linear narrative of a kind of fly on the wall style documentary about Bristol.
In my short film I plan to use a poem over the top of the sequence so that it is being recited over the top of it, Rossellini referenced apoem in Francesco Giullare Di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis). I have chosen to film in long takes, using only handheld, this is to create a more realistic sense of film and makes it seems more rough and new wave. My lighting will be natural lighting and I will rely heavily on the natural lighting of the area, I hope to recreate a sense of realism in my films and using natural lighting will help this. I plan to use a lot of pictures in my film and possibly overlap or featuring them within the film. This is to create a snapshot of each area and to give it a new wave vibe.
I am going to edit my film quite smoothly and make it so that it is continue without any jump cuts. This is to create a flow throughout the film. I want my video to have a flow because it makes viewing it more pleasurable and it goes against modern cinema because it involves very little editing, something that cinema relies heavily on. I plan on using a couple of shots over and over again to focus on their significance.
My main video technique is the overlaying of the pictures of Bristol that I have taken and overlapping that with footage of the journey to bristol, this is to create two perspectives and to create a unconventional image, the use of pictures creates a snapshot of an image and allows me to present more images and places within the film itself, this paired with the use of a poem as non-diegetic sound will create an immersing experience of a new wave film that encourages the viewer to delve deeper into the art of the new wave.
My choice of new wave is Italian Neorealism that came about after the fall of Mussolini and his government, due to the end of the facist regime, the film industry that was funded to make propaganda collapsed once the funding stopped, the film industry within Italy lost its epicentre, film-makers like Roberto Rossellini wanted to give something new and present, a true reflection and image of italy after the damage of Mussolini and his government. Poverty, famine, oppression, injustice and desperation became common themes in the films. For Example Stromboli by Rossellini is a film about a woman who escapes an internment camp by marrying an Italian POW and tells a story about a small Italian town and its conservative harsh views against a foreign woman and how the town has become bitter after the war.
After studying the Italian Neorealism new wave cinema movement, I have been inspired to create my own new wave film. After studying three of Roberto Rossellini's films I have decided to do my new wave film on everyday life but focusing on groups, this is paying homage to Rossellini because for his neorealism trinity he would place a camera into a busy square or a high traffic area and then chose his actors through their expressions and inquisitive looks into the camera. My new wave is going to take place in Bristol, I am going to take a number of shots of my group travelling to Bristol, some shots of Bristol and then some shots of the city itself. My film is going to be roughly around 2 to 3 minutes long and is going to follow a non-linear narrative of a kind of fly on the wall style documentary about Bristol.
In my short film I plan to use a poem over the top of the sequence so that it is being recited over the top of it, Rossellini referenced apoem in Francesco Giullare Di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis). I have chosen to film in long takes, using only handheld, this is to create a more realistic sense of film and makes it seems more rough and new wave. My lighting will be natural lighting and I will rely heavily on the natural lighting of the area, I hope to recreate a sense of realism in my films and using natural lighting will help this. I plan to use a lot of pictures in my film and possibly overlap or featuring them within the film. This is to create a snapshot of each area and to give it a new wave vibe.
I am going to edit my film quite smoothly and make it so that it is continue without any jump cuts. This is to create a flow throughout the film. I want my video to have a flow because it makes viewing it more pleasurable and it goes against modern cinema because it involves very little editing, something that cinema relies heavily on. I plan on using a couple of shots over and over again to focus on their significance.
My main video technique is the overlaying of the pictures of Bristol that I have taken and overlapping that with footage of the journey to bristol, this is to create two perspectives and to create a unconventional image, the use of pictures creates a snapshot of an image and allows me to present more images and places within the film itself, this paired with the use of a poem as non-diegetic sound will create an immersing experience of a new wave film that encourages the viewer to delve deeper into the art of the new wave.
My choice of new wave is Italian Neorealism that came about after the fall of Mussolini and his government, due to the end of the facist regime, the film industry that was funded to make propaganda collapsed once the funding stopped, the film industry within Italy lost its epicentre, film-makers like Roberto Rossellini wanted to give something new and present, a true reflection and image of italy after the damage of Mussolini and his government. Poverty, famine, oppression, injustice and desperation became common themes in the films. For Example Stromboli by Rossellini is a film about a woman who escapes an internment camp by marrying an Italian POW and tells a story about a small Italian town and its conservative harsh views against a foreign woman and how the town has become bitter after the war.
Thursday 5 October 2017
Bristol Planning/Research
Equipment Needed;
1. A camera (own my own)
2. A tripod (need to talk to technician)
3. A SD Card (own my own)
4. Camera battery charger (own my own)
Locations
Clifton Bridge
Clifton Area
Observatory
All of these locations are within 15 minutes travel of the hostel we are staying in so they are easily accessible and we are going to be in the clifton area for the majority of our filming, we are going to close up filming of the bridge and the area and then use the observatory as a high point to get long, establishing shots of the area and the city itself. This will give us plenty of view points and attractive shots of the clifton area of bristol and hopefully make our video appealing and enticing and will encourage people to come.
Group Planning
This was our group planning board where we decided what group was going to film in what location and what each of us needed and the roles each of our groups would take. In our group we are taking on the Clifton area and Leah is our camera handler, Connie is our director and I am the safety and technology person.
Storyboard (I really can't draw so I'm relying more on explanation, sorry your eyes have to see this)
Clifton Bridge
Using a tripod and camera we are going to go to a viewpoint where you can see the whole of the bridge and do a zoom/focus of the bridge, this will show the span of the bridge, highlight its magnificence against the scenery. (10 secs)
Using a hand-held camera we are going to drive down the bridge, this is to give a perspective shot of the bridge and to entice other people to come and see it. (30 secs)
A close up shot of a pillar of the bridge with the suspension, this is a good shot to get in as it shows the structure of the bridge itself. (10 secs)
Observatory
A close up shot of the observatory with a reverse dolly of the people in front of it to add a bit of flair to the video.
A far away shot of the observatory to establish the building itself, it will be a panning shot of the observatory and then moving onto the bridge to show how close together they are.
Clifton Area
This is a shot of the houses within clifton, its known as a posh area and all of the houses are very grand and some of them have some history behind them.
This will be a shot of a park within clifton to show the communal areas of the area, it will be a panning shot from end of the park to the other.
Travelling to Bristol
This evidence of my different ideas and research into the travel to Bristol, Megabus seems to be the most cost effective and time-efficient way of travelling there after comparing a number of different methods.
Overall
We aim to show a more rural, historical side to Bristol while also highlighting its greatest assets, such as the bridge and the observatory while also showing some lesser known places and making use of the picturesque setting and aesthetics of Bristol. We are aiming our video towards those who are more interested in sight-seeing and historically inclined people.
Promotional Video Research and Characteristics
https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/2 - copyright free website
Promotional videos tend to have a sole focus point and tend to be zoomed in, constantly zooming in on the thing that they are promoting, the music used tends to be upbeat and positive to
1. A camera (own my own)
2. A tripod (need to talk to technician)
3. A SD Card (own my own)
4. Camera battery charger (own my own)
Locations
Clifton Bridge
Clifton Area
All of these locations are within 15 minutes travel of the hostel we are staying in so they are easily accessible and we are going to be in the clifton area for the majority of our filming, we are going to close up filming of the bridge and the area and then use the observatory as a high point to get long, establishing shots of the area and the city itself. This will give us plenty of view points and attractive shots of the clifton area of bristol and hopefully make our video appealing and enticing and will encourage people to come.
Group Planning
Storyboard (I really can't draw so I'm relying more on explanation, sorry your eyes have to see this)
Clifton Bridge
Observatory
A close up shot of the observatory with a reverse dolly of the people in front of it to add a bit of flair to the video.
A far away shot of the observatory to establish the building itself, it will be a panning shot of the observatory and then moving onto the bridge to show how close together they are.
Clifton Area
This is a shot of the houses within clifton, its known as a posh area and all of the houses are very grand and some of them have some history behind them.
This will be a shot of a park within clifton to show the communal areas of the area, it will be a panning shot from end of the park to the other.
Travelling to Bristol
This evidence of my different ideas and research into the travel to Bristol, Megabus seems to be the most cost effective and time-efficient way of travelling there after comparing a number of different methods.
Overall
We aim to show a more rural, historical side to Bristol while also highlighting its greatest assets, such as the bridge and the observatory while also showing some lesser known places and making use of the picturesque setting and aesthetics of Bristol. We are aiming our video towards those who are more interested in sight-seeing and historically inclined people.
Promotional Video Research and Characteristics
https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/2 - copyright free website
Promotional videos tend to have a sole focus point and tend to be zoomed in, constantly zooming in on the thing that they are promoting, the music used tends to be upbeat and positive to
Monday 25 September 2017
Camera Skills
ISO 100
ISO 1600
With these two short clips its easy to see the difference between the two ISO's, with a dramatic increase within the different clips the influence that ISO has on a shot. This shot in its simplicity is to give evidence that I can adjust a cameras ISO setting to create the best shot I can. These two shots portray that because
The higher the number the more sensitive your camera is to light this means that more light is let onto the footage but the quality deteriorates. The more artificial light on the images the noise or image grain you will get. Using a higher ISO against bad lighting will not work, everything looks bad in bad lighting and using a higher ISO will just make it look worse. ISO values work with exposure 'stops' with an increase of one stop being a doubling of the sensitivity. The relationship of the ISO value to exposure stop is simple. ISO 200 9s a one-stop increase (doubling the sensitivity) over ISO 100. If you increase ISO from 100 to 400, you need to balance that with a two-stop decrease everywhere to maintain the same exposure value, by changing the shutter speed from 1/125 to 1/500.
Pull Focus
Focusing with DSLRs
A pull focus or a rack focus is a camera technique which allows you to change the focus of the shot, typically just moving from one subject to another. Manual focus is carried out by the user of the camera and is done by adjusting the focus ring on the lens. Autofocus happens when the shutter button is pressed halfway down and the camera automatically focuses on the subject, when a subject is in focus it will automatically lock, useful for motionless shots such as an establishing shot or shooting portraits. Continuous Autofocus is when the user chooses the autofocus option from the menu and means that the camera will focus for as long as the shutter button is half way pressed. Focus Stacking is the technique of taking several images with different focuses in them and combining them to make an image that is sharply focused all the way to the background.
Shutter Speed
1/30
1/250
Is double the frames per second that you are recording, 25 frames per second equals a shutter speed of 1/50th of a second. Frame rate is not shutter speed. Frame rate = image per second and shutter speed = exposure of each frame. This is the length of time that the digital sensor of a camera is exposed to light, also when a camera shutter is open when taking a photo. The amount of light that reaches the sensor is proportional to the exposure, 1/500th of a second will let half as much light in as 1/250th.
Aperture
Depth of field is effected by aperture, how wide the aperture is to let light in. F stop (F2.8 or F22). Focal length affects the depth of field because the longer the lens the shallower the depth of field is, 400mm lens will give you a shallower depth of field at F2.8 than a 50mm lens at F2.8.
Tuesday 19 September 2017
Cinematic New Wave Research
Task 1 - Italian Neorealism Research
Italian Neorealism also known as the Golden Age Of Italian Cinema, after the Second World War and the fall of Mussolini's government film making within Italy lost its epicentre. The solution was to create a new type of film that focused on the repercussions of the war. The poverty stricken, the poor and the disadvantages became subjects for the films created that wanted to send a social message. Neorealism became the symbol of cultural change and social progress.
Context of Italy's social situation:
The Neorealist Trilogy (1945 - 1947)
With the war finally over and Mussolini’s repressive measures gone, Rossellini was given a type of freedom which he had never had before. After living under Fascist rule for over 20 years and silently abiding by the rhetoric, Rossellini broke free from this ideological conformation to take a moral stand. Two months following the liberation of Rome, he started to film one of his biggest successes, Roma citta’ aperta . Lacking a producer, Rossellini sold his furniture, took out loans, and, with the help of his friends, scraped together seven or eight million lire (Aprà 50). To cut down on production costs, he used post-synchronization of the sound as it was several hundred lira cheaper to develop silent film. In the box offices around the world Roma citta’ aperta was a big hit which signaled to film critics and scholars that a film revolution was beginning.
His next film Pasiá took one step further toward a revolutionary style of film making. He would place his cameraman in the middle of the main square in a rural town and choose his actors from the inquisitive faces who came to investigate. Rossellini, excited by the promise of his American producer, Rod Geiger, to bring along famous American actors like Lana Turner and Gregory Peck to interpret his script, was disappointed when he was presented with a group of unknown theater actors (Films 68). Since the main theme of this film is interaction between two foreign cultures, Rossellini first observed a personal chemistry between the actors in each episode. He finalized the script only after the actors of the episodes met with their foreign counterpart and developed a rapport.
After the tragic death of his son, Marco Romano in 1946, Rossellini's next film Germania anno zero was filled with pain, violence and pessimism. It resulted in an attempt to discover, through death, the reason for living (Rondolino 62) . It was financed by a French production house and filmed in that country's Berlin sector. Like his previous film, Rossellini first tried to find his actors in the streets of Berlin. He placed his camera man in the center of a town square as he did for a previous film but was surprised when nobody came to watch.
The people's search for food took precedence over the follies of film making. Finally, he found Edmund in a local circus, where his parents performed as stunt horse riders (Aprà 61). Edmund's father, who, interestingly enough, had been a silent film actor in previous years, was discovered in a public hospital. Ironically, Edmund's sworn Nazi brother came from a dignified university family and had been kept a prisoner of the Gestapo during the war. Finally, Edmund's sister was discovered as she was waiting in a bread line. A former ballerina, Rossellini was drawn to her by the desperation in her face.
The Cinema Under Mussolini
Films made during the Fascist period, 1922 to 1943 virtually had been pushed aside and written off as meaningless propaganda. However, thanks to the Fascist regime, there is a lot of value and artistic expression to be found within these classics. Mussolini’s dictatorship was an authoritarian style of governing as opposed to Hitler and Stalin’s totalitarian style. In Russia and Germany, the government sought to control not only the public behavior of their people but also their private thoughts and opinions within their homes. For example, a German under Hitler’s rule could not even utter a word against the Führer in the company of his own family for fear that they would report him to the government and be arrested for his opposition. Meanwhile in Italy, Mussolini sought only to control people’s outward behavior to crush any opposition they may have toward the government while giving them a little more room to develop their personal thoughts and opinions. With this style of governing, Mussolini did not deport its intellectuals as Germany did. The government was more tolerant toward them as long as they did not use their opinions to incite the public. These differences between Italy, Germany and Russia also held true in the cinema industry.
Both Russia and Germany worked diligently to consolidate political interests and the cinema into one giant vehicle for propaganda. According to Stalin, 'Film is the strongest art,' and Russian film makers churned out hundreds upon hundreds of blatantly propagandist movies on the greatness of the Russian state and its leaders. Likewise, in Germany, Hitler used films to brainwash people as to the inferiority of certain races as well as embellishing on his right to power. Compared to Stalin and Hitler's film industries, Italian political and cinema groups never were able to work together in perfect unison. Luigi Freddi, who was in charge of Italian cultural control, never united Italy’s political vein with those of the cinema industry and, as a result, its films never achieved the marked propagandist content like those of Russia and Germany. True Fascist propaganda was to be found in “black” films, which championed the Fascist ideology and cause. They often were short newsreels shown in movie theaters before the main film, rather than full length feature films. On the other end of the spectrum, film makers produced "white telephone" films which were made up of melodramatic romances and light-hearted comedies. The majority of the films made under the Fascist era were in fact Fascist films, war-based films with a fictional story line and a heavy dose of propaganda, but usually could be found toward the middle of the Black-White spectrum.
In order to organize the film industry, the Fascist government experimented with political organizations and censor boards. LUCE ( L’Unione Cinematografica Educativa , 1925- 1929) oversaw all cinematic operations in Italy. It’s main goal was to promote the making of educational films and documentaries in order to raise an awareness of the link between film and politics. This organization was concerned mainly with newsreels and not with the commercial film industry (Brunetta 33).
In 1933, the government passed laws to preserve the integrity of Italian films abroad. According to these regulations, Italian films could not be dubbed into foreign languages. In addition, it was obligatory for all foreign films to be dubbed into Italian, the cost of which was covered by the foreign production houses. This tax, collected by the government, was later re-invested into the Italian cinematic endeavors.
In 1934, Luigi Freddi headed the Direzione Generale per la Cinema which was a state funded and controlled censor board made up of Fascists and War Minister officials. Their responsibility was to read and modify scripts, award prizes to film makers who championed the Fascist cause, and monitor the importation of foreign films (Brunetta 45). Quite a number of American films were banned because they could have influenced the Italian population in a negative way. The main goal of this censor board was not to ban Italian films that did not agree with Fascist ideology, but rather to modify them so that they didn’t contradict the government or incite the population to rise up against the government. Any script with pro-Fascist messages originally written in by the screen writer could receive up to 100% funding by the state controlled film section of the Banco di Lavoro . The Direzione could also recommend approved scripts to receive a 60% advance of capital, a hefty sum to come by in a time of war.
In 1935, ENIC or Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche completed the Fascist infiltration of every aspect of the cinematic realm by buying up a movie theater chain. In 1938, the ENIC expanded to regulate the number of foreign films entering the country. It was the only channel in whereby foreign films could be imported, severely limiting the selection of popular American films which could be sold to distributors. Also in this year, Mussolini set up the Centro sperimentale di cinematografia , a professional film school which still functions today. More importantly, Mussolini opened up Italy’s first film studio, Cinecitta in 1937, to help film makers produce movies with Fascist messages. The day of its grand opening, April 21st, was significant in that it was the day believed to be the founding of ancient Rome, thereby drawing a link between the greatness of ancient Rome and that of Italian Cinema. Mussolini named himself the principal orchestrator in Italian Cinema by placing a picture of himself behind a film camera with a spinoff of Lenin's quote , “Film is the most powerful weapon” at the Cinecitta' studios (Films 5).
One aspect of film making that everybody, no matter what their position on the political spectrum, called for was more realism in Italian films . The cinema was following the literary movement's general trend toward realism. Political leaders also encouraged a more realistic cinematic language. Scenes shot in authentic locations, such as one of Italy’s most famous monuments, or documentary aspects fused together with that of fiction would make a film more believable and would surely receive a higher star rating than those produced indoor on constructed sets. Those on the Right, including Vittorio Mussolini, seized this idea for its double effect. Not only would audiences enjoy more authentic films, but the showing of Italian monuments, culture and subject matter would bolster pride and love for their country and raise popular support for the nationalistic actions of the Fascist government, especially during the early stages of World War II.
Rossellini's Neorealist Trilogy: The Neorealist Prescription
Freed from the ties of the Fascist perception of film making, Roberto Rossellini rose up out of the war destruction to photograph reality. Though he ran fast and far away from the Fascist war rhetoric, each of his Neorealistic films still addresses the theme of a country in war. This time, though, it was the war of liberation and of the partisan resistance. Interestingly enough, Rossellini's post-war films were not all that different from those of the Fascist era in that he used a similar prescription for portraying reality, hence, he had not made a clean break with the Fascist era in which he received his film training. Rather, he modified the Fascist recommendations of reality to complete a trilogy on the effects of the partisan struggle and the problems of liberation for Italian citizens.
The first realistic aspect of his Neorealist films, which he carried over from his Fascist era training, is that of using actual footage of the war and liberation to give each film documentary aspects and a newsreel feel. This functioned, as it had in the past, to give the films a greater authenticity and believability. Out of this trilogy the best example is in Paisá which is organized in episodes that follow the chronological events of the liberation by Allied troops. A voice- over introduces each episode giving necessary information including the dates and locations of the events to follow. As the voice explains the events, actual liberation footage is being shown. Even a map is displayed in order to trace the Allied progress and chart their successes. The voice-over is objective and announces only the facts without any hint of emotion. These introductions are merged so well with actual footage of the places and events described that it is difficult to distinguish which sections were war footage and which was scripted footage.
The second aspect that Rossellini extended from his earlier career was that of the use of non- professional actors. In a 1946 interview with the French magazine 'L'Ecran Française ' Rossellini gave his opinion on the use of professional actors: 'In order to really create the character that one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle his actor which usually ends with submitting to the actor's wish. Since I do not have the desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally' (Aprà 51). Whatever his reasons, the lack of professional actors certainly created a stunning artistic effect especially in Paisáand Germania anno zero . Not only were these first-time actors used only in shooting the film but also in the script writing process. Ex-partisans and those who lived during this period were interviewed at length by Rossellini, who then re-worked the script in order to add their first hand accounts. In addition, Rossellini exploited the local color of these interpreters by employing their regional accent, dialect, and costumes.
In order to pursue the portrayal of reality even further, Rossellini began to occupy himself with portraying an unbiased perspective which would allow the viewers to judge the various ideologies for themselves. He attempted to do this in two ways, each of which is evident in Roma cittá aperta . First, in this film, Rossellini included at least one character to embody each different cause or ideology. Manfredi champions the Communist cause, Don Pietro represents the Catholic faith, and Major Bergmann embodies the Nazi ideology. These characters represent the main ideologies and causes while the other protagonists exemplify the common people who occupied themselves more with every day survival. This method of allowing all of the different political factions to voice their unadulterated views, allowed the audience to examine each platform without the interference of the director's own perspective. Therefore, the viewer was not force-fed any political preference and was urged to form their own opinions and preferences.
Rossellini also demonstrated the tension between the different factions as well as how they put aside their differences to unify against the common enemy, the Nazis (Films 52). He concentrated on a diluted version of the ideological and political tension between the Communist partisans and the Catholic partisans. First, Manfredi, a Communist, expresses his disapproval with Pina's decision to have a religious wedding in a Catholic church. However, he changes his mind when Pina responds that it is better to have a Catholic church wedding than a secular one by a Fascist official. This relatively modest example introduces the political tension between the Catholics and the Communists, the idea which Rossellini expounds upon in the final scenes where Major Bergmann's manipulates their ideological differences by threatening death if one did not betray the followers of the other.
By letting each group present their platform and by demonstrating the actual political tension between these partisan factions, Rossellini was careful to present an objective account that would realistically represent the events in Rome at the time. This effort could be viewed as a backlash against the strong messages of propaganda that Rossellini was forced to use in his previous films. He retreated from the Fascist extreme of forcing opinions to the objective extreme of trying to represent aspects of all beliefs. However, in the latter, an hour and a half film did not provide enough time to present the intricacies of each platform. It was just to much material to attack in a short film such as Roma citta' aperta . In an bid to compromise between these two extremes, Rossellini concluded his Neorealist Trilogy and began to look at other, more moderate methods of portraying reality.
Italian Neorealism also known as the Golden Age Of Italian Cinema, after the Second World War and the fall of Mussolini's government film making within Italy lost its epicentre. The solution was to create a new type of film that focused on the repercussions of the war. The poverty stricken, the poor and the disadvantages became subjects for the films created that wanted to send a social message. Neorealism became the symbol of cultural change and social progress.
Roberto Rossellini
An Italian film director and screenwriter he is one of the influential directors of the neorealism period. During fascist Italy while Mussolini was in power Rossellini created the "Fascist Trilogy" between 1941 and 1943 with the films being sponsored by the propaganda centres within the government. With the collapse of the fascist regime in 1943 snd with the liberation of rome, Rossellini began to write and produce Roma Cittá aperta (1945) (Rome, open city). This was the start of the Neorealistic Trilogy, Paisá (1946) and Germany, Year Zero (1948) make up the later two films. The funding from these films came from small loans and the films were originally sold on the black market in Italy, due to the anti-fascim stance of the films they appealed to the disadvantaged of society. Rossellini used non-actors in his films but often struggled to find someone who's face he deemed interesting enough for his films. As he declared in an interview, "in order to really create the character that one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle with his actor which usually ends with submitting to the actor's wish. Since I do not have the desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally".
Tom Dewe Mathews on Roberto Rossellini: gambler, sexual adventurer and master film-maker
"But the "man who knows nothing," as West put it, is also acknowledged as the father of Italian neo-realism, the director who introduced naturalism into world cinema in 1946 with his revolutionary film, Rome, Open City. Then, three years later, Rossellini again tried to change the way we look at films. This time - largely in his films made with Ingrid Bergman, such as Stromboli or Journey to Italy - his aim was to encourage the audience to understand and engage with his actors through an exploration with them of their surroundings on screen. This was in opposition to the more conventional Hollywood method of identifying with the characters on the screen. With Rossellini's way, he claimed, one watches "with one's own eyes".
This interlude, however, replenished him. "Few film-makers at this stage of their lives or careers were as adventurous or ambitious," notes Scorsese in the preface to a new book, Roberto Rossellini: Magician of the Real. Scorsese adds, "Rossellini's goal was nothing less than to educate the entire world." The method he chose was TV, which he regarded as an overlooked "educational tool" for mass audiences and the means he applied was biopics or "film histories" of cultural heroes from Socrates, Christ and St Augustine through to Pascal, Alberti and Karl Marx, in a proposed film that was cut short by Rossellini's death from a heart attack in 1977.
With Rossellini, however, there was always a distinctive method underlying any apparent madness. The same year he made Journey to Italy, Rossellini attacked the idea of pre-planned scripts in the style of Hitchcock. That was all right in Hollywood where films were made "purely for entertainment". For "realistic" films, he insisted, inspiration and spontaneity were what mattered. "An author writes a sentence or page, then crosses it out. A painter uses a red, then paints it out with a green. Why shouldn't I be able to cross things out too, to remake and replace film? This is why I don't think you can have a fixed script. If I thought you could, I'd think of myself as a scriptwriter. But I'm not a scriptwriter. I make films."
Rossellini Films:
An Italian film director and screenwriter he is one of the influential directors of the neorealism period. During fascist Italy while Mussolini was in power Rossellini created the "Fascist Trilogy" between 1941 and 1943 with the films being sponsored by the propaganda centres within the government. With the collapse of the fascist regime in 1943 snd with the liberation of rome, Rossellini began to write and produce Roma Cittá aperta (1945) (Rome, open city). This was the start of the Neorealistic Trilogy, Paisá (1946) and Germany, Year Zero (1948) make up the later two films. The funding from these films came from small loans and the films were originally sold on the black market in Italy, due to the anti-fascim stance of the films they appealed to the disadvantaged of society. Rossellini used non-actors in his films but often struggled to find someone who's face he deemed interesting enough for his films. As he declared in an interview, "in order to really create the character that one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle with his actor which usually ends with submitting to the actor's wish. Since I do not have the desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally".
Tom Dewe Mathews on Roberto Rossellini: gambler, sexual adventurer and master film-maker
"But the "man who knows nothing," as West put it, is also acknowledged as the father of Italian neo-realism, the director who introduced naturalism into world cinema in 1946 with his revolutionary film, Rome, Open City. Then, three years later, Rossellini again tried to change the way we look at films. This time - largely in his films made with Ingrid Bergman, such as Stromboli or Journey to Italy - his aim was to encourage the audience to understand and engage with his actors through an exploration with them of their surroundings on screen. This was in opposition to the more conventional Hollywood method of identifying with the characters on the screen. With Rossellini's way, he claimed, one watches "with one's own eyes".
This interlude, however, replenished him. "Few film-makers at this stage of their lives or careers were as adventurous or ambitious," notes Scorsese in the preface to a new book, Roberto Rossellini: Magician of the Real. Scorsese adds, "Rossellini's goal was nothing less than to educate the entire world." The method he chose was TV, which he regarded as an overlooked "educational tool" for mass audiences and the means he applied was biopics or "film histories" of cultural heroes from Socrates, Christ and St Augustine through to Pascal, Alberti and Karl Marx, in a proposed film that was cut short by Rossellini's death from a heart attack in 1977.
With Rossellini, however, there was always a distinctive method underlying any apparent madness. The same year he made Journey to Italy, Rossellini attacked the idea of pre-planned scripts in the style of Hitchcock. That was all right in Hollywood where films were made "purely for entertainment". For "realistic" films, he insisted, inspiration and spontaneity were what mattered. "An author writes a sentence or page, then crosses it out. A painter uses a red, then paints it out with a green. Why shouldn't I be able to cross things out too, to remake and replace film? This is why I don't think you can have a fixed script. If I thought you could, I'd think of myself as a scriptwriter. But I'm not a scriptwriter. I make films."
Rossellini Films:
Context of Italy's social situation:
Extracts from A history of contemporary Italy; society and politics 1943-1988 by Paul Ginsborg
Roberto Rossellini and his Italian Cinema: The Search for Realism
Toward the end of the second World War, when the air raid sirens ceased to scream and enemy bombs ceased to fall, Italy awoke to find itself enveloped in crime and social unrest. Seizing the energy of a free society, one without the repressive controls of a dictator, film makers set out to record and document the rebirth of Italian society. The morose reality was recorded by the cameras of visionary film makers who found enough inspiration within their dismal atmosphere to create a new stylistic approach to film making: Neorealism.
Toward the end of the second World War, when the air raid sirens ceased to scream and enemy bombs ceased to fall, Italy awoke to find itself enveloped in crime and social unrest. Seizing the energy of a free society, one without the repressive controls of a dictator, film makers set out to record and document the rebirth of Italian society. The morose reality was recorded by the cameras of visionary film makers who found enough inspiration within their dismal atmosphere to create a new stylistic approach to film making: Neorealism.
Quite often, Italian Neorealism is considered a phenomenon which exploded onto the cinema scene when the Fascist regime fell, giving Italian film makers the artistic freedoms which were denied to them for over 20 years. It is commonly regarded as a smooth break from the repressive Fascist era. Neorealism's prescription for cinematic realism, set forth by film scholars and critics, called for the use of non-professional actors, regional dialects, current subject matter, authentic locations, documentary aspects, and the use of the film as a social statement. In 1945, Roberto Rossellini was hailed "The Father of Neorealism" with his first international success "Rome, Open City" which was consistent with the neorealist prescription. His next two movies, "Paisan" and "Germany, Year Zero" likewise did the same. However, the similarities between Rossellini's realism and that defined by the mainstream end here.
First, Rossellini's interest in the portrayal of realism was deeply rooted within the Fascist cinematic era in which he was trained by truly Fascist film makers and government officials. Apparently there was not a smooth break between the Fascist and the Neorealist eras. Second, he vehemently rebelled against critics, scholars, political figures and other film makers who tried to set and force others to follow guidelines as to what elements were necessary to portray reality. The tension between these two sides, which ran particularly height in post-war period to the early 1950's, caused Rossellini's popularity with the mainstream audience and critics to plummet substantially. One writer even wrote, "To change one's profession in certain circumstances is, without doubt, the wisest thing one can do," suggesting that Rossellini get out of the film business (Films 98). Even though, with each consecutive film, the ticket sales steadily decreased.
Rossellini continued to forge ahead in the development of his own personal portrayal of truth and realism, a movement which, though contrary to that of the mainstream, was important in shaping post-war cinema. Therefore, in order to show how his personal conception of truth and reality evolved within these high-tension years, it is essential to look at the evolution of these realistic aspects within his films from 1941 to 1953, apart from the interference of mainstream recommendations and criticisms.
The Neorealist Trilogy (1945 - 1947)
With the war finally over and Mussolini’s repressive measures gone, Rossellini was given a type of freedom which he had never had before. After living under Fascist rule for over 20 years and silently abiding by the rhetoric, Rossellini broke free from this ideological conformation to take a moral stand. Two months following the liberation of Rome, he started to film one of his biggest successes, Roma citta’ aperta . Lacking a producer, Rossellini sold his furniture, took out loans, and, with the help of his friends, scraped together seven or eight million lire (Aprà 50). To cut down on production costs, he used post-synchronization of the sound as it was several hundred lira cheaper to develop silent film. In the box offices around the world Roma citta’ aperta was a big hit which signaled to film critics and scholars that a film revolution was beginning.
His next film Pasiá took one step further toward a revolutionary style of film making. He would place his cameraman in the middle of the main square in a rural town and choose his actors from the inquisitive faces who came to investigate. Rossellini, excited by the promise of his American producer, Rod Geiger, to bring along famous American actors like Lana Turner and Gregory Peck to interpret his script, was disappointed when he was presented with a group of unknown theater actors (Films 68). Since the main theme of this film is interaction between two foreign cultures, Rossellini first observed a personal chemistry between the actors in each episode. He finalized the script only after the actors of the episodes met with their foreign counterpart and developed a rapport.
After the tragic death of his son, Marco Romano in 1946, Rossellini's next film Germania anno zero was filled with pain, violence and pessimism. It resulted in an attempt to discover, through death, the reason for living (Rondolino 62) . It was financed by a French production house and filmed in that country's Berlin sector. Like his previous film, Rossellini first tried to find his actors in the streets of Berlin. He placed his camera man in the center of a town square as he did for a previous film but was surprised when nobody came to watch.
The people's search for food took precedence over the follies of film making. Finally, he found Edmund in a local circus, where his parents performed as stunt horse riders (Aprà 61). Edmund's father, who, interestingly enough, had been a silent film actor in previous years, was discovered in a public hospital. Ironically, Edmund's sworn Nazi brother came from a dignified university family and had been kept a prisoner of the Gestapo during the war. Finally, Edmund's sister was discovered as she was waiting in a bread line. A former ballerina, Rossellini was drawn to her by the desperation in her face.
The Cinema Under Mussolini
Films made during the Fascist period, 1922 to 1943 virtually had been pushed aside and written off as meaningless propaganda. However, thanks to the Fascist regime, there is a lot of value and artistic expression to be found within these classics. Mussolini’s dictatorship was an authoritarian style of governing as opposed to Hitler and Stalin’s totalitarian style. In Russia and Germany, the government sought to control not only the public behavior of their people but also their private thoughts and opinions within their homes. For example, a German under Hitler’s rule could not even utter a word against the Führer in the company of his own family for fear that they would report him to the government and be arrested for his opposition. Meanwhile in Italy, Mussolini sought only to control people’s outward behavior to crush any opposition they may have toward the government while giving them a little more room to develop their personal thoughts and opinions. With this style of governing, Mussolini did not deport its intellectuals as Germany did. The government was more tolerant toward them as long as they did not use their opinions to incite the public. These differences between Italy, Germany and Russia also held true in the cinema industry.
Both Russia and Germany worked diligently to consolidate political interests and the cinema into one giant vehicle for propaganda. According to Stalin, 'Film is the strongest art,' and Russian film makers churned out hundreds upon hundreds of blatantly propagandist movies on the greatness of the Russian state and its leaders. Likewise, in Germany, Hitler used films to brainwash people as to the inferiority of certain races as well as embellishing on his right to power. Compared to Stalin and Hitler's film industries, Italian political and cinema groups never were able to work together in perfect unison. Luigi Freddi, who was in charge of Italian cultural control, never united Italy’s political vein with those of the cinema industry and, as a result, its films never achieved the marked propagandist content like those of Russia and Germany. True Fascist propaganda was to be found in “black” films, which championed the Fascist ideology and cause. They often were short newsreels shown in movie theaters before the main film, rather than full length feature films. On the other end of the spectrum, film makers produced "white telephone" films which were made up of melodramatic romances and light-hearted comedies. The majority of the films made under the Fascist era were in fact Fascist films, war-based films with a fictional story line and a heavy dose of propaganda, but usually could be found toward the middle of the Black-White spectrum.
In order to organize the film industry, the Fascist government experimented with political organizations and censor boards. LUCE ( L’Unione Cinematografica Educativa , 1925- 1929) oversaw all cinematic operations in Italy. It’s main goal was to promote the making of educational films and documentaries in order to raise an awareness of the link between film and politics. This organization was concerned mainly with newsreels and not with the commercial film industry (Brunetta 33).
In 1933, the government passed laws to preserve the integrity of Italian films abroad. According to these regulations, Italian films could not be dubbed into foreign languages. In addition, it was obligatory for all foreign films to be dubbed into Italian, the cost of which was covered by the foreign production houses. This tax, collected by the government, was later re-invested into the Italian cinematic endeavors.
In 1934, Luigi Freddi headed the Direzione Generale per la Cinema which was a state funded and controlled censor board made up of Fascists and War Minister officials. Their responsibility was to read and modify scripts, award prizes to film makers who championed the Fascist cause, and monitor the importation of foreign films (Brunetta 45). Quite a number of American films were banned because they could have influenced the Italian population in a negative way. The main goal of this censor board was not to ban Italian films that did not agree with Fascist ideology, but rather to modify them so that they didn’t contradict the government or incite the population to rise up against the government. Any script with pro-Fascist messages originally written in by the screen writer could receive up to 100% funding by the state controlled film section of the Banco di Lavoro . The Direzione could also recommend approved scripts to receive a 60% advance of capital, a hefty sum to come by in a time of war.
In 1935, ENIC or Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche completed the Fascist infiltration of every aspect of the cinematic realm by buying up a movie theater chain. In 1938, the ENIC expanded to regulate the number of foreign films entering the country. It was the only channel in whereby foreign films could be imported, severely limiting the selection of popular American films which could be sold to distributors. Also in this year, Mussolini set up the Centro sperimentale di cinematografia , a professional film school which still functions today. More importantly, Mussolini opened up Italy’s first film studio, Cinecitta in 1937, to help film makers produce movies with Fascist messages. The day of its grand opening, April 21st, was significant in that it was the day believed to be the founding of ancient Rome, thereby drawing a link between the greatness of ancient Rome and that of Italian Cinema. Mussolini named himself the principal orchestrator in Italian Cinema by placing a picture of himself behind a film camera with a spinoff of Lenin's quote , “Film is the most powerful weapon” at the Cinecitta' studios (Films 5).
One aspect of film making that everybody, no matter what their position on the political spectrum, called for was more realism in Italian films . The cinema was following the literary movement's general trend toward realism. Political leaders also encouraged a more realistic cinematic language. Scenes shot in authentic locations, such as one of Italy’s most famous monuments, or documentary aspects fused together with that of fiction would make a film more believable and would surely receive a higher star rating than those produced indoor on constructed sets. Those on the Right, including Vittorio Mussolini, seized this idea for its double effect. Not only would audiences enjoy more authentic films, but the showing of Italian monuments, culture and subject matter would bolster pride and love for their country and raise popular support for the nationalistic actions of the Fascist government, especially during the early stages of World War II.
Rossellini's Neorealist Trilogy: The Neorealist Prescription
Freed from the ties of the Fascist perception of film making, Roberto Rossellini rose up out of the war destruction to photograph reality. Though he ran fast and far away from the Fascist war rhetoric, each of his Neorealistic films still addresses the theme of a country in war. This time, though, it was the war of liberation and of the partisan resistance. Interestingly enough, Rossellini's post-war films were not all that different from those of the Fascist era in that he used a similar prescription for portraying reality, hence, he had not made a clean break with the Fascist era in which he received his film training. Rather, he modified the Fascist recommendations of reality to complete a trilogy on the effects of the partisan struggle and the problems of liberation for Italian citizens.
The first realistic aspect of his Neorealist films, which he carried over from his Fascist era training, is that of using actual footage of the war and liberation to give each film documentary aspects and a newsreel feel. This functioned, as it had in the past, to give the films a greater authenticity and believability. Out of this trilogy the best example is in Paisá which is organized in episodes that follow the chronological events of the liberation by Allied troops. A voice- over introduces each episode giving necessary information including the dates and locations of the events to follow. As the voice explains the events, actual liberation footage is being shown. Even a map is displayed in order to trace the Allied progress and chart their successes. The voice-over is objective and announces only the facts without any hint of emotion. These introductions are merged so well with actual footage of the places and events described that it is difficult to distinguish which sections were war footage and which was scripted footage.
The second aspect that Rossellini extended from his earlier career was that of the use of non- professional actors. In a 1946 interview with the French magazine 'L'Ecran Française ' Rossellini gave his opinion on the use of professional actors: 'In order to really create the character that one has in mind, it is necessary for the director to engage in a battle his actor which usually ends with submitting to the actor's wish. Since I do not have the desire to waste my energy in a battle like this, I only use professional actors occasionally' (Aprà 51). Whatever his reasons, the lack of professional actors certainly created a stunning artistic effect especially in Paisáand Germania anno zero . Not only were these first-time actors used only in shooting the film but also in the script writing process. Ex-partisans and those who lived during this period were interviewed at length by Rossellini, who then re-worked the script in order to add their first hand accounts. In addition, Rossellini exploited the local color of these interpreters by employing their regional accent, dialect, and costumes.
In order to pursue the portrayal of reality even further, Rossellini began to occupy himself with portraying an unbiased perspective which would allow the viewers to judge the various ideologies for themselves. He attempted to do this in two ways, each of which is evident in Roma cittá aperta . First, in this film, Rossellini included at least one character to embody each different cause or ideology. Manfredi champions the Communist cause, Don Pietro represents the Catholic faith, and Major Bergmann embodies the Nazi ideology. These characters represent the main ideologies and causes while the other protagonists exemplify the common people who occupied themselves more with every day survival. This method of allowing all of the different political factions to voice their unadulterated views, allowed the audience to examine each platform without the interference of the director's own perspective. Therefore, the viewer was not force-fed any political preference and was urged to form their own opinions and preferences.
Rossellini also demonstrated the tension between the different factions as well as how they put aside their differences to unify against the common enemy, the Nazis (Films 52). He concentrated on a diluted version of the ideological and political tension between the Communist partisans and the Catholic partisans. First, Manfredi, a Communist, expresses his disapproval with Pina's decision to have a religious wedding in a Catholic church. However, he changes his mind when Pina responds that it is better to have a Catholic church wedding than a secular one by a Fascist official. This relatively modest example introduces the political tension between the Catholics and the Communists, the idea which Rossellini expounds upon in the final scenes where Major Bergmann's manipulates their ideological differences by threatening death if one did not betray the followers of the other.
By letting each group present their platform and by demonstrating the actual political tension between these partisan factions, Rossellini was careful to present an objective account that would realistically represent the events in Rome at the time. This effort could be viewed as a backlash against the strong messages of propaganda that Rossellini was forced to use in his previous films. He retreated from the Fascist extreme of forcing opinions to the objective extreme of trying to represent aspects of all beliefs. However, in the latter, an hour and a half film did not provide enough time to present the intricacies of each platform. It was just to much material to attack in a short film such as Roma citta' aperta . In an bid to compromise between these two extremes, Rossellini concluded his Neorealist Trilogy and began to look at other, more moderate methods of portraying reality.
Saturday 16 September 2017
4 hour film challenge
1. Doors - Room 6
A short film depicting a girl getting locked into a room and discovering something unfriendly and unknown, shows uses of pull focus, using non-diegetic sound and voice-over with choppy editing to create a story with depth and exploiting one or more of the senses. Uses of low-level lighting with a variety of angled shots creates a composition that jumps from the p.o.v angle to a spectator angle creating a depth that fully envelops the viewer into the film.
Evaluation: The film contains strong points, such as the quick editing and jump cuts, its continuity of the shots at the start of the sequence are fluid. The lighting in the film itself is well done and highlighted the shots well and portrayed the necessary and wanted effect. A weak point of the film was that it lacked a proper clear narrative that wasn't well explained enough through out the film so therefore caused slight confusion. the film itself was strong with its audio but points through-out could've benefitted from ambient sounds and sometimes even silence to create a greater effect.
2. An Unusual Perspective
A short film depicting a group of college students seemingly recording themselves being clueless about what they are doing and how to create a film for what they are planning, then at the end of the film it is revealed that this was there idea all along. With use of different angles and a more hand held feel camera it has a more real life documentary feel to it. With the use of upbeat music and editing to enforce that.
Evaluation: The film has a number of strong points such as its fit the ideology and that it creates a confusing perspective through the use of handheld cameras, the narrative itself is confusing as it was not as clear to others as it seemed to us. To improve this we could have shot the film from a number of different perspectives.
3. Any idea - Plan Challenge
Basic Story Outline:
The song starts and its like that quick drum beat so each beat can be like Emily stumbling down the street on her way to the pub n she gets inside and it's just like messy handheld shots of her drinking and like rolling her head in her hands and falling about. Then the camera will change to a shot of Connie and Leah in the background like whispering about her, pull focus back somewhere or something choppy and then Connie and Leah approach Emily near the bit of the song; the two lines before the 'kick me out’ bit and we can like come up to her and have a cheeky smile to each other and then the next shot is Emily like falling out of the pub doors in a slow mo at the first 'kick me out' and then a different angle of her falling at the second 'kick me out’. Then there's like a point of view shot from Emily's perspective looking up at us at we're standing at the doors looking down at her. Basically we ruff her up and give her a gun and turn her into one of the others {Connie and Leah are basically modern day outlaws that take misfits in off the streets} Genre: Grunge Music Video {with narrative}Music: Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco {only be able to do like 2 mins of the song anyway so we can fade out at the instrumental bit around two minutes.} Equipment:Nikon DSLRSpare Battery 18-55mm lens Macro Lens {extreme close-up - detailing of the clothing, facial expressions, props}Tripod {to create steady shots}Props: Fake Gun, alcoholLocation:The location will vary but it will all be inside Nuneaton due to travel expenses and the shortness of time we have to produce a 1-2 minute feature film. Most of the locations we will be scouting will have some sort of derelict aspect to fit with our ‘grunge theme’.Locations in particular that we want to shoot are:Pool ClubPool Club Car ParkIndependent food restaurants StreetsIdeas:Derelict places in Nuneaton and shoot cool shots of derelict area’s/buildings {Pool Club, Pool Club Car Park, Independent food restaurants and Streets}Dress: Grunge, Alternative Rocker, mid-1980s {teenage dirtbag}Sort of ‘on the lamb’ storyline, like we are running away from somethingSomething that happened in San Fransisco, using the song lyrics metaphoricallyIn the song the lyrics repeat ‘kick me out, kick me out’, swap the characters around; the first verse is Emily getting pissed in the pub and the getting kicked out, then Connie and Leah find her and we all run away togetherFake Gun: Emily shooting someone after she gets kicked out but we find her, save her and run away {have her point the gun at the camera then drop to the floor, have the camera placed on the floor so the camera just captures our feet running to her, and then get a tripod and set it up so it is framing an over the shoulder shot of Emily so we have the same shot from different perspectives}Emily has lost it because she is drunk, her having a gun make her go crazyWhen Emily has the gun pointing at the camera the editing could be very fast paced and choppy where as when she drops to the ground, the footage could be slowed down
A short film depicting a girl getting locked into a room and discovering something unfriendly and unknown, shows uses of pull focus, using non-diegetic sound and voice-over with choppy editing to create a story with depth and exploiting one or more of the senses. Uses of low-level lighting with a variety of angled shots creates a composition that jumps from the p.o.v angle to a spectator angle creating a depth that fully envelops the viewer into the film.
Evaluation: The film contains strong points, such as the quick editing and jump cuts, its continuity of the shots at the start of the sequence are fluid. The lighting in the film itself is well done and highlighted the shots well and portrayed the necessary and wanted effect. A weak point of the film was that it lacked a proper clear narrative that wasn't well explained enough through out the film so therefore caused slight confusion. the film itself was strong with its audio but points through-out could've benefitted from ambient sounds and sometimes even silence to create a greater effect.
2. An Unusual Perspective
A short film depicting a group of college students seemingly recording themselves being clueless about what they are doing and how to create a film for what they are planning, then at the end of the film it is revealed that this was there idea all along. With use of different angles and a more hand held feel camera it has a more real life documentary feel to it. With the use of upbeat music and editing to enforce that.
Evaluation: The film has a number of strong points such as its fit the ideology and that it creates a confusing perspective through the use of handheld cameras, the narrative itself is confusing as it was not as clear to others as it seemed to us. To improve this we could have shot the film from a number of different perspectives.
3. Any idea - Plan Challenge
Basic Story Outline:
The song starts and its like that quick drum beat so each beat can be like Emily stumbling down the street on her way to the pub n she gets inside and it's just like messy handheld shots of her drinking and like rolling her head in her hands and falling about. Then the camera will change to a shot of Connie and Leah in the background like whispering about her, pull focus back somewhere or something choppy and then Connie and Leah approach Emily near the bit of the song; the two lines before the 'kick me out’ bit and we can like come up to her and have a cheeky smile to each other and then the next shot is Emily like falling out of the pub doors in a slow mo at the first 'kick me out' and then a different angle of her falling at the second 'kick me out’. Then there's like a point of view shot from Emily's perspective looking up at us at we're standing at the doors looking down at her. Basically we ruff her up and give her a gun and turn her into one of the others {Connie and Leah are basically modern day outlaws that take misfits in off the streets} Genre: Grunge Music Video {with narrative}Music: Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco {only be able to do like 2 mins of the song anyway so we can fade out at the instrumental bit around two minutes.} Equipment:Nikon DSLRSpare Battery 18-55mm lens Macro Lens {extreme close-up - detailing of the clothing, facial expressions, props}Tripod {to create steady shots}Props: Fake Gun, alcoholLocation:The location will vary but it will all be inside Nuneaton due to travel expenses and the shortness of time we have to produce a 1-2 minute feature film. Most of the locations we will be scouting will have some sort of derelict aspect to fit with our ‘grunge theme’.Locations in particular that we want to shoot are:Pool ClubPool Club Car ParkIndependent food restaurants StreetsIdeas:Derelict places in Nuneaton and shoot cool shots of derelict area’s/buildings {Pool Club, Pool Club Car Park, Independent food restaurants and Streets}Dress: Grunge, Alternative Rocker, mid-1980s {teenage dirtbag}Sort of ‘on the lamb’ storyline, like we are running away from somethingSomething that happened in San Fransisco, using the song lyrics metaphoricallyIn the song the lyrics repeat ‘kick me out, kick me out’, swap the characters around; the first verse is Emily getting pissed in the pub and the getting kicked out, then Connie and Leah find her and we all run away togetherFake Gun: Emily shooting someone after she gets kicked out but we find her, save her and run away {have her point the gun at the camera then drop to the floor, have the camera placed on the floor so the camera just captures our feet running to her, and then get a tripod and set it up so it is framing an over the shoulder shot of Emily so we have the same shot from different perspectives}Emily has lost it because she is drunk, her having a gun make her go crazyWhen Emily has the gun pointing at the camera the editing could be very fast paced and choppy where as when she drops to the ground, the footage could be slowed down
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