Reflection/Evaluation

For me, Outside the Box film making or (as many would call it) “Experimental filmaking” is a way to make films that push the boundaries of conventional film making. The experimental aspect could be new and different ways of working the camera, using lighting, playing with audio effects, scripting or even acting and to stay away from the cliched. Experimentation with lens filters, different lens focal lengths, and unusual camera angles to get unique effects. For second semester a selection of films were screened 

Unfortunately I was unable to attend all but one of the films that were screened through the semester, but after contacting my module leader he said it was ok to focus my blog on my film ideas for third year as well as other outside the box films I researched on my own for my films. 

The film I did see in one of the screenings was ‘Wings of Desire’. I learnt a lot from this film. 

I want to pay more attention to detail in my films in third year. Colour, props, sets and costumes can send messages either boldly or subtly through film. Rather than do what I have done before, which is find a set (for example, an ordinary kitchen) and start filming I want to dress the set to fit the characters and the mood of the film. From my film last semester ‘Come Home’ I filmed in a quite a simplistic kitchen but if I were to film it again, especially after watching three colours blue, I would have done it differently and would have found a more run down, worn out kitchen which would be left a mess that would reflect my character’s mental illness. As I said before, this is something I learnt from Three Colours Blue. The colour blue is in almost every scene in one way or another. 

It’s a significant use of mise-en-scene throughout the piece. It connotes the character’s mind, her sadness. There is one scene where the camera stays with her forever and its like you’re allowed to be a part of her life and feel how she does.

Another technique I have learnt from this film is the use of fade-to-blacks in the middle of some scenes. Although I strongly feel that fade-to-blacks should only be used a the end of the film, Three Colours Blue has taught me an interesting way to use it during a film without closing the scene.  At four key moments in the film they appear to occur when Julie experiences a breakthrough in her recovery or at a significant turning point in the plot.  It works so well as it gives the music more space and highlights the emotions of the character. The editor of ‘Three Colours: Blue’ Jacques Witta elaborated by saying “…punctuating the film with fades in order to gives the music more space and highlight the emotions”.Traditionally the fade-to-black is not used for this, traditionally it is used to show time. With a cross fade in Three Colours Blue shows a short time between two moments, and for a longer time it use the fade-to-black….they used the fade-to-back in the middle of a scene, to quickly create a space, a suspense…to quickly create a pause with significance.

The camera stays with her forever and its like you’re allowed to be a part of her life and feel how she does.

Dogtooth could be read as a superlative example of absurdist cinema, or possibly something entirely the reverse – a clinically, unsparingly intimate piece of psychological realism.

Watching this, and alternately gaping at the unselfconsciously shocking scenes of violence, thwarted sexuality and unexpressed sibling grief, I was reminded of Alan Bennett's maxim that all families have a secret: they are not like other families. 

they have been trained in obedience like dogs, woofing and leaping about on all fours to order, but also capable of walking and talking like convincing human beings

with some deadpan, elegant compositions, and intentionally skewiff framings of the "headless" variety.

I thought it was clever in Dogtooth how it’s a very disturbing film but without too much actual weirdness in it (putting the insest to one side). It’s disturbing how the characters were brought up to believe and behave in strange ways but at the same time it’s so simple. It’s surreal, it’s bizzare and very powerful. I like how Dogtooth was filmed with it’s long one take scenes, it’s bluntness.

Idea 4

 This next film idea disturbs me a little. But I find it an exciting challenge and although it'll be difficult, it will be possible to do.

So, here goes.

A man creates a character. Throughout the film he starts to transform into this character. The character he creates is a woman. When I say he transforms into her, I don’t mean mentally as in a transexual way, where he desires to be a woman, I mean he physically transforms into the character against his own will. His eyes change colour, he loses his hair, his teeth. All of this happens over a period of time but it's not quite clear what is happening until the end of the film. It'll end with him and the audience realising what's actually happening. It leaves on a cliffhanger, a 'WHAT THE HELL' moment that will get people thinking about it long after they've watched it.

He becomes her or rather she becomes him. In his head the character begins to take control of him. Rather than the man being the puppeteer and the character being the puppet, the roles are reversed. I was inspired by elements from both Wings of Desire and Dogtooth for this film.

Originally I had the idea of the character being a man but found it more interesting if it was a woman instead. I want the film to have a several meanings and messages ranging from roles of power, split personalities, woman’s role in society and even to religion. 

The man becomes obsessed with her but only because she is making him do so. She begins to take control. It’s almost as though he falls in love with her. He fantasies about her. He wishes she were real and that he has created his ideal woman. This makes me think of the saying 'Be Careful What You Wish For'.

In his head he see’s her as an ‘angel’. A positive figment of his imagination that calms him and inspires him, gives him guidance in life. He see’s her as his Jesus, so to speak. When in fact she becomes his demon. She watches over him. Rather than him being the puppeteer and her being the puppet, it is the other way around. In the film we see the two characters; the man living a dull lonely life and escapes too often inside his character's life through fantasies, illustration and writing. In his head we see the angel very aware that she is trapped in this mans mind we see her trying to find a way out of his head. As the film unfolds we see a disturbing sequence of events as the man transforms into this ‘angel‘ against his will. It's a slow transition. His love for her is so powerful he’s let her take control of his mind and now she is wanting to live in reality.  All the parts where we see the ‘angel’ it’ll be black and white. The only colour we see of her is her hair. It’s dark blood red representing her danger. A similar style to this screencap from 'Sin City'

There are several ways I want to experiment with the angel's presence within the film and whether of not to show her face or reveal parts of her appearance through close ups as the narrator describes her to the audience. Another way I'd experiment with her presence is through animation. Each of her scenes would be in cartoon style and then at the end of the film we see the human version of her as she successfully takes over the mans body. The film would cut back and forth from real life, to cartoon and the angel becomes more real and less cartoon like as the film progresses. A similar example would be from Kill Bill Volume 1 in the 'Chapter 7: Origin of O-ren' where the film turns into an anime sequence to tell the back story to one of the characters. The use of anime was clever in Kill Bill as the character O-ren was part Japanese so this was an effective technique. I don't want to use anime style art for my sequence.

Because the male character is so fond of this ‘angel’ I like the idea of her scenes taking place in a bedroom fit for a queen. Jewels, king sized beds. She’s spoilt. This represents the male character’s affection for the girl. This shot of Marion from Wings of Desire makes me think of how it effective it would be to not show my characters angel's face. But even without revealing her face, you can tell she's a beautiful looking woman with a slender frame, thick curly hair. The way she moves will be elegant and I don't want her to speak in the film. The only sound from her will be her laugh. A sort of sexy giggle that would make the situation a little harrowing 

Also, because she’ll be in his mind things won’t be as the seem. I'd like to use mirrors with the female character to add more to the surrealism aspect.

I mentioned before about the puppeteer and the puppet. I really want to include a surreal sequence in the film where we see the man on a stage with the angel looking from above controlling him with strings. For this part of the film she is huge and towers over the stage which to her is a toy set and the man moves according to her demands. This whole scene represents how much control the angel has of the man's mind. I also mentioned before about how this film can relate to religion. Atheists believe that religion is built up on fiction,that Jesus and God etc are fictitious characters. I am not a religious person. I’m more of an atheist. But I am fascinated at the lengths people will go to in the name of religion. Their beliefs can be so strong, it can lead them to do bizarre acts and make them think in crazy ways. I find it almost frightening that people would believe in something (and live their lives over something) that has not entirely been proven to even be real. I have nothing against religion but it’s the extremists that concern me. For a film I want to try and reflect this obsession, this way of life and how something can take control of someone’s life. 

Idea

 Insanity.

The concept is simple. A woman losing her mind.

I’ve always been fascinated with the subject of insanity when it comes to Art. It can be expressed in so many different and peculiar ways which can not only be scary and exciting but intriguing. For a short experimental film idea I would focus on this subject. About a woman who lets go, opens her mind but can’t control it. It would start with the woman looking into the camera. The location will be an large open spaced room and she is surrounded in black so the audiences only focuses on her. The colouring will be bland, pale and dull. Her face begins to twitch and she becomes frustrated as she tries to control it. An audio track of muffled sounds will begin to play quietly. Suddenly her face would begin to morph with an outburst of sound. She shakes her head and she’s back to her normal self. She begins to hear nosies around her and her mind plays tricks on her. As the film progresses she would start to fall apart, and it would turn into a manic fast pace fest of craziness.

I have heard that people who suffer from severe mental disorders often have what are called ‘Episodes‘. Where at one point everything is fine and they can think straight and then all of a sudden everything changes and they go mad. The word ‘Episode’ would be considered for the title of this film but it doesn’t sound right at the moment. A little bit cheesy, a little bit wrong. 

Another thing that I would do is to not use any dialogue and would let the vision and sound do all the talking. I’d like to include mirrors and reflections to enhance the trapped aspect of it. 

Locations:
Staffordshire University Film Studio.

Forest/Park at night (Hanley Park being close and convenient)
Spode Factory.
I like the idea of using green screen too.

Each location would represents the woman’s mental disorder. The disheveled Spode Site in Stoke that is falling apart. Being lost in the forest/woods at night and not knowing where to go as everywhere looks dangerous and unnerving. The Media Centre Studio would represent the mind of the woman. It begins empty and then manifests into these different situations. 

Each Location would have a demon, representing the evil mental disorder and its presence in the film will give off the feeling of being chased and manipulated. They are in control of the woman, trapping her and stopping her from breaking free. 

I love it in films where you don’t actually see the monster/demon but are aware that they are there. The less you see of them the more you are interested. This aspect of it heightens the anxiety of the viewer. This can leave the audience to imagine the scariest monster in their own head making it personal to them. 

One of my influences of this is from the independent film ‘The Blair Witch Project’ where a group of students are trapped in a forest and are being haunted by an evil presence known as the ‘Blair Witch’. What makes the film so successful I feel is that not only do you not see the witch but also how it’s filmed by the actors giving it more intense real feel to it. 

Although not from a film, a similar aspect is from the video game ‘Slender’ where you have to escape the woods at night before you are caught by SlenderMan. It’s terrifying because you know he’s there but you don’t want to find him although it happens every time. This is in first person resembling ‘Blair Witch’ so it feels more like a personal experience. Although filming in first person is not the style I plan to use for my film (although POV shots are planned already), it's the aspect of being chased/hunted that I want to include.

(Slender)

(Scariest. Thing. Ever)

The presence of the demon being is a big aspect in my film. The demon representing the illness. 

For the sound in this film I want to use only ambient sounds, like in the forest at night the noises would be from the insects and foot steps from around the character. I think I'm struggling to bring my point across with this bit but I want to do something similar to this bit in Carrie with the sound (0.10 - 1.04) It works so well and is incredibly eerie. 

I’d like to film this with a certain technique that may be a bit difficult and would require a couple of test shoots. The ‘Long Take’ technique. 

A long take or oner is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. 

The film La Casa Muda (The Silent House) was shot to look like it was in real time in one continuous 88 minute take but it was filmed using a handheld high-definition digital single-lens reflex camera (the Canon EOS 5D Mark II) over a period of just four days. (This would add a big challenge when it comes to edit). Again, like Blair Witch and Slender, the actor in La Casa Muda is being haunted by an evil presence. 

Another example of the ‘Long Take’ technique is of the very disturbing 9 minute rape scene from the film ‘Irreversible’ The scene is shot all in one take and when you see it, it feels like it’s never going to end (which is quite clever as this is what it probably feels like to an actual rape victim). The cinematography in this scene is very effective and the use of the 'long take' is powerful and very disturbing as it makes you want to look away and makes you feel very uneasy. 

I find this idea exciting but like any film, it will have a number of challenges. My greatest fear is that it would come across as too ‘student-like’ and cheesy. To avoid this I need to focus a lot on lighting, camera composition and on having a great actress. The genre would be more of a psychological thriller rather than a horror. 

Idea 3 Hidden Secret - 'Stripped Bare'

“There is something wrong with us. There is still something in us that is broken that we cant fix on our own. it needs to be a addressed otherwise we’ll just keep on being who we think we are or who we want other people to think we are. And sometimes what we show is not a real representation of who we are on the inside. When we dare to hold up the mirror to see who we really are, sometimes it hurts because we’re afraid if somebody else gets in and knows the real me then I’ll be disregarded so the truth hurts. Its when you’re stripped bare of your defence mechanisms and your ability to deny that there is a problem. thats when your relationships with others can be life saving. maybe you can’t fix yourself but you can allow yourself to be loved. By inviting someone else into your pain and suffering you are no longer along. The truth is when just the great and terrible revealer of your flaws ultimately knowing the truth sets you free and thats why love plus truth equals joy. Joy is the deepening assurance that you’re never alone and you’re always sustained by a power that is far beyond you but at the same time lives within you. One more thing, if you want your joy to be complete you can’t just always be receiving love and truth, you also have a responsibility to give it back. By speaking truth to powder, loving your neighbour not just when it’s convenient but even when it cost you something and that is when you find yourself becoming real. This is what it means to be truly human. Thats what it’s all about. Well, not all about. But that’s a lot of it”

This film made me think back to the ideas I had after watching Wings of Desire.

The ideas on secrets. I love films that have a surprised ending where the main character is hiding a very big secret, like an ill family member or they themselves have disabilities. I remember back in school idolising a particular student who seemed to have an awesome life. But it turned out that their life was a living hell and that they were great at hiding it and putting on an act to show others that they were ok. I found it shocking and I couldn't look at them in the same way. I have this idea on a character, in school who's trying to keep a great reputation and the lengths they would go to so no one would learn about their lives. They keep it all to themselves and have nobody to talk to and go through this with. 

A very random note. I find this music very fitting for a scene where the main character's secret has been outed (The only video I could find of this song on youtube is on this fan made video for Grey's Anatomy. I did not get the idea from this video...) From 3.31 to the end is music I absolutely love and feel would fit with a scene where we see the main character fall apart after their secrets are outed. Unlike my other film ideas I plan to have a happy and positive ending to this film. Moral of the story would be to not go through a bad journey alone. Let others in. 

Idea 2

Idea 2

Emotions and Colours. 

An idea for a short experimental. Expressing emotions with colour.

Red - Angry/Danger/

Yellow - Happy

Green - Jealousy 
Blue - Sad, calm, tranquil/Cold

Purple - Disturbed

I could film this in many ways and wondered whether or not I should include actors. 

I wanted to do a small experiment and so I asked a friend of mine, Emilie (who studies Drama at Brighton University) to show a ray of emotions for a photo shoot. I would then colour correct it to represent each emotion. 

 

Happy (Yellow)

Sad (Blue)

Dangerous (Red)

Jealousy (Green)

Depressed/Empty (Black&White)

(Disturbed/Vulnerable "If It's Purple, Someones going to die")

After completing the experiment with an actor I realised that this idea was probably a bit too easy and in your face. As a filmmaker I plan to add this colour effect subtly. An audience would be able to tell a characters emotions from the characters expressions and actions. It's more the environment, the set, the characters outfits and props that represent the characters emotions in film.

An example of this would be from the film "Three Colours: Blue" 

I love how the use of the colour blue features predominantly- a significant use of mise-en-scene throughout the piece. The use of the colour blue in for example, a blue chandelier or a blue-lit swimming pool, allows the director to permeate the colour’s meaning in the film, blue being a colour that connotes great sadness as well as liberty. The title also prepares the viewer into looking out for the colour, which heightens its effect.

So I started to think of different ways I could interpret the concept of colours and emotions without using actors. 







I recently watched a film called 'Blue' which was made by filmmaker Derek Jarman a year before he succumbed fully to AIDS. Because of the illness he had become blind and In Blue, the color blue is all there is to see as Jarman tries to bring the audience into his vision-impaired world. Jarman offers his insights on life, love, disease, the meaning of art, and the symbology of the color blue over a blue screen. Actors, including Tilda Swinton and John Quentin, also read from Jarman's journals and poetry.

I liked the idea of using colours as a visual but also with dialogue. The colours would change as an emotion changed - calm to sad, sad to anger and fighting through anger to happiness. Many people slammed Derek Jarman's 'Blue' for the one colour used throughout the entire film and for my film idea I want to try something different and use many colours keeping the audience engaged and excited. 

(This is all you see in the film 'Blue')

I’ve seen a few videos of food colouring and water mixed together recently and have been interested in doing something similar ever since. Drops of food colouring into water has a cool tranquil effect and after a while it forms many shapes in the water.  I noticed a similar effect from Adele’s performance of ‘Skyfall‘ at this years Oscar awards.

The red represents blood/danger/death.  
I really liked this and it gave me a few ideas for my a film. The screen starts blank (and will represent the mind of a person) and through the film, as the situation for the character gets more stressful, thats when colours would be mixed like adrenaline. 

I put it to the test and did another 
experiment. 

Adding a mirror filter made the images more fascinating than before and the shapes they formed were scary!  It added a touch of surrealism to the film which I loved. This fuelled me with more ideas to film. I could see faces and birds which would be a brilliant effect for a film on emotions. 

Dogtooth

Dogtooth. A Greek film about a very, very weird family.

Dogtooth is disturbing anti-social satire that is shot in an art-house sort of way. It's is one of the most disturbing and original films I've seen. This is not because of it's violence (although there are some violent and gory moments) it's because of the concept. It's about a husband and wife who keep their children ignorant of the world outside. I loved this idea for a film. The film is powerful and shows the audience how easy it is to manipulate and persuade people into believing the most bizarre things and make them carry out unusual behaviours. No special effects are involved, no cgi. It's quite blunt.  It's very creepy and there are scenes where you don't know whether to laugh or be scared because it makes you feel so uneasy. For example, this dance scene: 

                                       

For me, it's not only the awkward dancing that makes me feel uncomfortable but also how it's been shot. It feels as though nothing in this shot makes sense. It doesn't feel right. The childish party decorations for celebrating their parents wedding anniversary, the way one girl is dancing aggressively and the other getting lost and not know what to do. You almost don't pay attention to the boy playing the guitar because you're transfixed on the girls and thinking 'what?!' Everything in the film is made to appear ordinary. But the more ordinary things seem, the more shocking we eventually find them. It's this sort of element I want to bring across in a future film of mine. 

The "children" have never seen the outside world and have been locked in the "compound" (home) their whole lives. They've been brought up to believe bizarre things such as cats are the most dangerous animal on the earth and the planes that fly over the their house are the same toy planes they play with. They are taught different meanings for everyday words. For example, they are told that a "zombie" is "a small yellow flower," and that "sea" is a chair. .The only way to leave the house into the open world is by losing their 'dogtooth' (canine). Because the main characters are all adults, the chance of this happening isn't likely. Near the end of the film the eldest daughter smashes her face with a dumbbell and psychically tears out her canine. Having lost her dogtooth she then hides in her fathers car trunk until he drives to work the next morning, ending the film with her now in the real world. It really makes you want to see what happens with that character and for the first time ever I wanted to see a sequel. She probably wouldn't last long in the real world - she'll be like an alien but she'll get caught up in some pretty interesting scenarios. It sort of made me think of the Amish...

(Cute, but deadly...)

Although there is violence thrown in here and there with this film, it's the least most disturbing part of the whole film. It's the misconception and the brainwashing of the three main characters that are fascinating and it leads them to acting strange behaviours and do disturbing things, particularly on each other! 

It's a fascinating film and a real inspiration for film makers who are thinking of films 'outside the box'. 

I like films that are a bit twisted and stay in your mind for a long time after you've seen the film. I feel that this film certainly pushes the boundaries in story telling in film. It doesn't rely on jumps or have any scary moments with high orchestra! It has made want to try and do something completely different to a simple idea in my third year of university but not as bizarre and strange as a film like 'Eraser head' ...

Wings Of Desire

Wings of Desire is a great film about expressing a love of life and the human existence through the eyes of angels.

The angels, Damiel and Cassiel listen to the thoughts of a variety of people and have been on earth for . An old Holocaust victim, and then parents worried about their children, then the passengers on trams and the people in the streets. It is as though they are turning a dial and hearing snatches of many radio programs.The angels’ curiosity about the true lives of men leads to desire and the desire of the angels to fall is a brilliant twist to the film.  This has inspired me for a couple of films I would like to film for my final year at university and through this blog I shall expand my ideas and research them in more detail. For one of the films I'd like to make is the the ability to read people's minds. Revealing secrets through this ability. We'll then get to see how people feel on the inside which then makes us look at them completely differently. You can guide the audience through a roller coaster of emotions and stories told from many characters and how fascinating it would be to look at someone who looks fine and happy but are really living a life of hell. Also, the idea of mind manipulation is an incredibly uncomfortable thought but one that would make a great film, shot in different and obscure ways.

I really loved the stunning blend of sounds and images in Wings of Desire, shot in black and white and colour by Henri Alekan. Director, Wim Wenders decided to film scenes depicting the human perspective in colour, and those depicting the angels' perspective in black-and-white. Where colour shows the surface of things, black-and-white shows their essence. This technique has inspired me to use similar elements in another film of mine. Although simple, the idea would be to focus on different emotions, starting from black and white (as they are seen as 'empty' colours) and as the film progresses colour is introduced through the emotions felt by the character. So black and white to begin with, then blue for sadness to yellow for happiness and red for anger or danger.