Wednesday, 6 May 2009

6th may, Viewing Blanche, feedback, montage and screenplay

Today we FINALLY got round to watching our film...except, it didn't go down as well as I had hoped. While watching today, I was not particularly impressed either, however I did not rate it as badly as everyone else seemed to. Even though it was a bit upsetting to see my groups' hard work be criticized so harshly, I think it was a good experience. Because of this, I think I was an open-minded learner today (see below), as I accepted that not everyone has the same opinions or likes the same things. It was interesting to see what things stood out to different people, and what other people liked or didn't like. See below for a summary of feedback.

Blanche


  • Snappy, interesting beginning
  • Appropriate music
  • Slow pace during the chase scene
  • Unclear plot
  • Dragged on
  • Obvious song loop (accidental double song)
  • Good sound intensifying (getting louder)
  • Strange transition between loud music and back to house scene - relevance unclear
  • Bad ending shot

I think that honestly I have improved tremendously in film. Although people may not have thought this was as good as the last project that my group worked on, Plunge, Jeff was the 'initiator' of what went on during that film. This film was very much in Julien's and my hands. I am actually quite proud of myself. Of course it could have been improved, but I think it was a good effort. A note for next time; snappiness must be kept in mind at all times! I mentioned this in my last evaluation, and I tried to keep that in mind. However I think some of the scenes were storyboarded so that it was actually impossible to keep them snappy (not enough angles/footage to choose from). I think I should also keep in mind the time allotment. An issue with this film was lack of time. To be honest though, that is not a real excuse as we knew from the beginning how much time we were given. I was quite happy with the sound, as I was sound editor, (apart from that single ANNOYING added section that got into it), and I think that I did actually learn a lot from this project, even though I didn't manage to work on the sound on SoundTrack Pro properly.

After the film viewing, of which Blanche was the only film shown, we learnt a bit about our new project. Not only is it going to be focused around Wong-Kar Wai, but it is also going to include montage editing. Montage is a type of film style that is put in during post-production. The editor puts in certain shots after certain shots, so as to make the viewer feel certain things. These shots may or may not be events that are supposed to be happening at the time. There are 5 levels of montage:


Metric - Cutting is given a specified number of frames, and cuts to the next shot regardless of what is happening. This invokes the most primal emotional reactions in the viewers

Rhythmic - Cutting is also based on time, but it generally alludes to more complex meaning, and uses different shot speeds (i.e. sped up shots). Montage can also include audial elements (music, dialogue, sounds) - 'Rhythmic sound'.

Tonal - Rather than just having the film with metric and rhythmic cutting, other symbolic shots are put in to elicit emotional meanings more complex.

Overtonal - Overtonal montage is a cumulation of metric, rhythmic, and tonal montage to synthesize its effect on the audience for an even more abstract and complicated effect.

Intellectual - This uses shots which, combined, elicit an intellectual meaning. This also uses symbolic shots, but of a more powerful and metaphorical nature. The meaning can only be derived when these shots are juxtaposed with the original footage.

Eisenstein, Sergei; Jay Leyda (translator) (1942). 'The Film Sense'. Harcourt Brace and Company. OCLC 01289114.

Learning about these was actually very interesting, as although I never knew it was a type of editing style, I have seen in used many times. During class I was an inquirer (see below), because I remained focus and attentive throughout the presentation of the new topic that we were learning about. I was especially interested in the examples, of which there were several, and asked questions regarding what type of montage certain excerpts used.

We were also given a task to complete for next class; to find and draw inspiration from a picture for a Wong kar-Wai-esque screenplay. The picture that I have chosen is the following:


http://images-2.redbubble.net/img/art/size:large/view:main/567607-3-memory-does-not-make-films-it-makes-photographs.jpg

I like this photo because it is very sparse, and although usually a photo like this would be boring, there is something about the colors and atmosphere that I really like. I plan to write a screenplay about someone falling in love on public transport. I know that doesn't sound particularly Wong Kar-Wai like, yet, as I have not watched enough of his films, again 'yet', however it will hopefully work. It will be a very 'mundane' sort of screenplay, with little dialogue, and hopefully lots of scenery- and montage, of course. I think I will settle for the most simple type of montage, 'metric'


Inquirers: Develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Open-minded learners: Understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

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