Aspect Ratio

Here is an interesting video that looks into the importance of aspect ratios and how they can change stories. This is something I never thought I'd look at but it's something I will think about once editing my film.

Opening Shot

Here is a short video that looks into the importance of the opening shot for a film. First impressions are everything and if this first impression isn't good we get put into a bad frame of mind while we watch the film. This is something I will need to look at as my film is theme heavy.

Setting

Here is a video I came across that delves into how important setting is for your story as your setting plays a character in your movie to. I think it's important for me to have the right setting for my movie because if I don't it won't translate well. It'll ensure the film feels real and that is what I hope for.

Fran Bow

Here is a game I came across called Fran Bow. It tells the story of Fran who tries to tackle her inner demons with her trusty sidekick Mr Midnight. The  game interested me as it shared a dark narrative similar to mine. The idea of experimentation and psychological torture are present in the game also.

It also manages to create a hero that you don't want to die. Although she is a child, the script for the game shows her innocence and makes the player care. That is something I need to ensure for my film otherwise know one will care what happens to the protagonist.  

Paris Je T'aime

Here is a short film I watched the other week which I found very interesting starring Steve Buscemi.

The reason why I liked it is because of its lack of dialogue. It shows what you can do with no dialogue and backs up that statement of show don't tell. It shows as well that you can carry a narrative with just visuals and shows how important silence is when it comes to film making.

Enemy

I wanted to talk about Denis Villeneuve 2013 movie "Enemy" which started Jake Gyllenhaal. The contrast of characters in the film is great and I also love the use of colour in the film.

The colour brings a mood to the film which really reflects on the films substance and themes  which are very dark. This is something I've looked at and is something I want to create for my film as I think it is a great to tool that I think is over looked by students.

Shel Silverstein - Kidnapped

Here is a poem I came across by Shel Silverstein called "Kidnapped". It tells the story about a young student who gets kidnapped by 3 masked men. We later find she gets away as that was the reason she was late for school.

The reason why I liked this poem is quite simple. It's vivid. As I was reading it I could visually see everything that was happening. The writing was descriptive which is important. It made seeing this easier as everything was given to me, I just had to fill in the blanks. This what I need to do for my script so the actors and cinematographer know exactly what I want.

Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around

The next video I wanted to talk about is Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around". The song is about 8 minutes so they decided to make the music video into a short film. The video was directed by Samuel Bayer, who had first directorial works with Nirvana's 1991 single "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

The narrative tells the story of a girl Justin Timberlake is seeing who he thinks is "The One". Later on in the video we see she is cheating on him. The lyrics help carry the narrative, but the acting and the dialogue also help drive the narrative and shows you can carrying a strong narrative over a short space of time by being clever with your time. Timberlake is likeable and we don't want anything to happen to him, so when it does, we get annoyed as he does in the video.

First Of The Year (Equinox) - Skrillex

Again I opted to look at a music video for inspiration however this time it is more suited to my theme and feel. The music video is for the song First Of The Year (Equinox) by Skrillex. 

The video opens with an old man looking at a children's playground. He ends up following a young girl and puts chloroform on a cloth as he walks. Once he reaches a cellar the girl is there waiting for him. As he approaches the drop in the song kicks in and she starts to terrorise him with telekinesis.

 

The colour is something that I really like about the video as well as the simple story telling. We don't like the old man by the way he is dressed and by his actions. Although he doesn't do anything, we know his thoughts and it is why we are pleased when he attacks thrown around during the video.

Muse - Psycho

Again I decided to look at music videos for inspiration and this time I want to talk about Muse's song Psycho.

Although they are in silhouette for a lot of the video, we still know what is happening by listening to the lyrics, by looking at the background visuals and by listening to the drill Sergeant scream at the young soldier. Again it shows how a story can be told by visuals and dialogue (or music and lyrics in this case). 

Kodaline - All I Want

In this next post I decided to take a look at music videos. After looking at various other music videos, it's giving me a fresher look on story telling as a lot of music videos tell a short narrative in the space of 3-4 minutes.

In this Kodaline video, a short narrative is told about a guy with a disfigured face who likes a girl he works with. In the short space of time we like him and root for him and hope he gets the girl. During the video we see that he is a good guy. With his best employee mug, and caring for his dog, we see that he is likeable. These small simple visuals make us want him to succeed and he does at the end. It is a simple way to make us like him but it manages to tell a short narrative to the music which works well together.

Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler was my number one film of 2014. I felt it was one of the most original movies I've seen in a long long time and I thought Jake Gyllenhaal's performance was mesmerising and it throughly deserved his Oscar nod.

I feel that the mood in this film is something I can portray in my film which is quite grim and edgy. It shows to how important good acting and good dialogue. This is so important for my film as to make it believable, I have to have dialogue that fits and to find the actors that will bring my film to life.

It's great to find a film like this and I am so grateful as it is a big inspiration. It also shows that even in todays society there is still scope for original content and for me that is a big incentive to go work because you never know when the next Nightcrawler will appear. 

Robert Frost - The Road Not Taken

After my last Muse post, I decided to look at different ways of story telling and having listening to the album, I decided that poetry would be an interesting thing to look at in terms of story telling.

I opted to look at Robert Frost's "Road Not Taken"

Poetry is a strong medium for story telling as it leaves the visuals up to the imagination. The words are so strong on the page that it brings a strong visual and to me that is so important for story telling as it reflects on the treatment for my film. Visual writing will help me create exactly what I want visually and will help guide me for the direction I want to go.

Muse - Drones

This is a very interesting direction post for me. I get to talk about my favourite band "MUSE". On the 5th of June they released their 7th studio album entitled "Drones". The album itself tells an entire story of a young man who is brainwashed by the government to become a killing machine for the army, and breaking those shackles.

I found it really interesting because although most albums have a general theme, this album is completely structured on telling this story. Although it doesn't have much to do with my film idea, I thought the process of making the album was cool as they developed the story before creating the music, instead of the usual process of recording a song and finding a suitable place for it on the album.

One Hour Photo

2002's "One Hour Photo" tells the story of Seymour Parrish, an employee of a one hour photo lab who becomes obsessed with a small suburban family.

  

The reason why I wanted to talk about this is because I think there are a lot of similarities to my film idea and this one. Everyone finds Seymour odd, so much so he obsesses with this family and dreams of a perfect situation that involves him and the family. The whole film carries a strange under tone that is portrayed brilliantly by Robin Williams and is something I think could be interesting to tap into. 

The Shoes - Time to Dance

I wanted to take a different direction with this next post. I wanted to look at different ways of story telling in a short space of time and this music video does just that.

I actually saw this video years ago and it wasn't until recently that I looked at it from a film making point of view. Although it is a music video, it still carries a heavy narrative which is compelling and carries the attention of the viewer for 8 minutes. It delivers a nice story arc by using nice use of contrast as well as it composition and editing. The acting of course plays a huge roll in the video but it makes the video interesting to watch and that is so important for short films. There is such a short time to hook the audience so every second counts. 

The Lovely Bones

I wanted to review Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" as it has a similar theme and vibe I want in my film. Although it is a feature film, I think the story they tell is doable for a short.

It also plays on that idea similarly to "Gran Torino" in which there is a character in the neighbourhood no one likes. It also carries on that idea of kidnapping and being held against their will.

The style of the film is something I can take inspiration from, except when the "ideal world" is created. There is a nice use of grey in the film and causes a mood over it which works considering the films overshadowing theme. 

Gran Torino

On this post I wanted to look at Clint Eastwoods 2008 film Gran Torino.

The reason why I wanted to look at this is because I've been reviewing my idea. Reviewing it in the sense that I'm exploring different ways in which I can have my characters for my film. I was thinking instead of having a prim and proper scientist, I could have the older man portray a disgruntled old man that lives in a neighbour where no one likes him and the younger character can play a bit of a renegade who tries to befriend. As he gets closer to him he then finds out his dark secret.

Again it isn't set in stone but I think it's important not to pigeon hole myself and to explores different options and choices of how to tell my story.  

Genie

This post is probably the one that will be the core of my film. The post is about Genie. Born in 1957, she was a victim of abuse, neglect,  and social isolation. Just 20 months old she was locked away by her father because he decided that she was mentally retarded.

She was found by social workers in 1970, 13 years after her father locked her away in isolation. Her father made sure her mother or her brother never talked to her or acknowledged she existed. After being arrested by police,  Clark Wiley shot himself.

She was then analysed by scientists, as brain study had only started around that period. They wanted to see if the theory of  human development and the human mind was correct. According to the theory, young people could only learn certain things at certain times, called critical periods. Language was one of these critical periods and according to the theory, Genie who at the time was a teenager, missed her chance forever.

 This case was so important for science that the government gave money to back the project At the age of 13 she was the size of a 6 year old, and was as much a feral child, as if she was brought up my wolves. This is should a heavy thing to review and research but it is something I need to do as my film will carry this same weight. There are a few documentaries made about Genie and I will watch them during the week.

The Walking Dead

This will be a shorter blog post but it is something I remember that happened in the TV show "The Walking Dead"

During the series we are introduced to a character known as "The Governor" who was head of Woodbury, a small town safe from zombies. In season 3 we see him as a Mr.Nice Guy who is willing to help anyone. As the episodes continue we see he isn't as nice as we first thought and he is actually very sadistic.

We also see he is very fond of his daughter, who is actually a zombie and has her locked away so know one else finds out his secret.

He tortures her while caring for her, or what he thinks is caring, which is an interesting dynamic for a character. He has so much depth and has so much going on in his head that he doesn't no what is right in the world. 

Silence Of The Lambs

The next thing I wanted to talk about is the Oscar winning feature film "The Silence of The Lambs". 

"A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims."

The reason why I think this is a big film for me to look at is it is the complete package. The direction given by Jonathan Demme is absolutely on the ball and the project he delivered was flawless. The performance given by Foster and Hopkins steal the show and they throughly deserved their Oscar. 

Looking at the chemistry between the two leading actors shows me again that getting the actors in together and working together early is so important to have a natural flow between characters. The pacing of the film to is great and it goes down as one of the best movie performances of all time by Anthony Hopkins. The kidnapping in the film to is something I looked at in terms of set design and how Buffalo Bill treats his captive psychologically. 

The cinematography is something I looked at to and it's quite stylistic although it's a "Hollywood" type film. Different angles were used to show Lecters dominance as well as Buffalo Bills dominance and this is basic film grammar, but is used really well to make them imposing.

Prisoners

The next film I wanted to look at is the 2013 Denis Villeneuve film "Prisoners". 

"When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?"

I really liked this film and I feel the vibe around is could be quite similar to mine. The use of colour and tempo is quite on the money to what I want, as well as the fact the film is about kidnapping.

This film is so nicely structured and shows how important good acting is to deliver a story line with a weight of "Prisoners". After looking at it made realise how important logistics are for my film in terms of set, costume and makeup because if it isn't done properly it'l look poor and I want a high production standard.

  

Facebook Article

This is a very interesting article that I came across which talks about feral children that  were raised by animals.

http://www.hellou.co.uk/2015/10/new-photos-tell-the-shocking-true-stories-of-feral-children-raised-by-wild-animals-63347/

One case that interested me more so the others is the case of Genie in 1970. She wasn't raised by children, she was tied to a chair when she was 20 months where she remained until she was 13. Nobody talked to her thus she was unable to develop speech. The case was looked at by psychologists, linguists and other such scientists have learnt valuable information from her case. Various documentaries were also made.

Rodriguez

Robert Rodriguez is one of my favourite directors but many people don't seem to know who he is. His method of film making is so refreshing and is the prefect scope for amateur film makers: 

 "Creativity, not money, is used to solve problems." 

He also came up with a concept for script writing. Don't write something you can't make, write the screenplay based on that list of things you can use like cool cars, apartments, horses, samurai swords and so on.

He also earned the nickname "The One Man Film Crew" for the work he does on his films, which is everything. Rodríguez not only has the credits of producing, directing and writing his films, he also frequently serves as editor, director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator, composer, production designer, visual effects supervisor, and sound editor on his films. This is a huge inspiration for me because his work ethic is infectious and the way he goes about things is something I love about him. 

Dusk Till Dawn

The next thing I wanted to talk about is the Robert Rodriguez television adaptation of his cult classic "From Dusk Till Dawn". It tells the story of the Gecko brothers trying to get to Mexico while being chased by cops. The reason why I wanted to talk about it is because of it's use of colour grading.

  

Rodriguez's work is very stylistic and that is partially due to his colour use. It as a nice finish to the video and really makes the screen vibrant and is something I would like to experiment with this for my project. 

Here is a piece from an article where Rodriguez talks about colour:

“Since I shot in color, we’d take the color out and make it a stark black-and-white, but at any time in post I could bring a color back in,” says Rodriguez. “You could then use color as a weapon; a really strong storytelling tool. 

God Of Love

The next film I wanted to talk about is the 2011 Oscar winning short film titled "God of Love". 

It tells the story of Ray, a lounge singing darts champions who finds his prayers being answered after mysteriously finding a box of love darts.

God of Love / Бог любви (2010) from Mir Festivals on Vimeo.

The reason again why I wanted to check this out is because it's the best. It won the big one so these are the films I should be watching. It tells a nice little story with a nice narrative with nice camera work, but nothing out of the ordinary. It shows what you can do with a good story and good planning and that is something I hope to achieve. 

In Bruges

The next movie I wanted to review was Martin McDonaghs 2008  film "In Bruges". I adore this film because of its simplicity in terms of story. It tells the story of Ray, who travels to Bruges after a job gone wrong.   

What I love about this film and McDonagh's films are his ability to strike the perfect balance between drama and comedy. His jokes are hilarious and his sad parts are devastating and that is so tricky to do. The reason why I watched it is for that reason. Picking up methods and tips on how he writes and how his films are shot. 

Also having important chemistry with your actors are so important. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are real life close friends and it comes across that way in the film. Also it's so important to maintain a positive and happy spirit on set because it'll make for a better film making process.

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime

The next thing I wanted to talk about is the show "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime ". I went to the theatre last Tuesday and was absolutely blown away with this production. "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime" tells the story of Christopher, a 15 child with aspergers who goes on a detective mission to find out who killed his neighbours dog.  

The story telling in this play was mesmerising. The performance of Joshua Jenkins as Christopher  was superb and it was really refreshing to check out another medium to tell a story other then film. The visuals during the show to were breathtaking and it was an absolute spectacle.  

  

It gave me a new look on how to tell a story and showed me how important character and actor chemistry is. The story flowed so smoothed and the actors connection was real and made me really want to ensure good story telling.

Soft

The next thing I wanted to review was the short 2008 Cannes selected short entitled "Soft". The story is about a young gang who terrorise a father and son as well as provoking them. 

The reason I checked it out was because it did well at Cannes and these are the type of shorts I should be looking at as they are the standard of film I should be aiming to make. 

The film itself was hard to watch at times and that is one reason why I didn't like it. However again it shows what you can do with simple camera work and a good story. It also used interesting elements to it like using poor camera quality which was recorded on a 'phone'.

Fight Club

The next film I looked at was David Finchers 1999 cult classic "Fight Club". "Fight Club" tells the story of an insomniac office worker who looks for a new way to make his life more exciting.

I love David Finchers movies. His style is something I really admire and it goes quite against the grain in ways. His editing style changes for each film he does and reflects on either the story or the protagonist. 

I thought this film was interesting to review as the whole psychological element is important to the film and is somewhat relatable to my project. A good guy gone bad could play a part in my story and learning from the best is the right way to go for me and my story telling. 

Cinematic Story Telling

I decided to look at some film basics this time and look at film grammar. Although I am aware of standards and techniques used, I decided to delve deeper in the subject by reading Cinematic Storytelling The 100 Most PowerfulFilm Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know by Jennifer Van Sijill.

The book looks at film grammar and techniques used in film and how these techniques are used and what they mean to the story. It attaches part of a script, with screen shots from the film and a description on what the shots mean and what is happening.

It was a huge benefit to remind myself of these techniques as it refreshed my memory of shots and got my brain working in terms of thinking of shots.

Never Ending Nightmare

The next thing I looked at was the 2014 horror game "Never Ending Nightmare" created by Matt Gilgenbach. The drawings inspiration were a representation of Matt's personal struggles with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.

The story follows our protagonist Thomas, who wakes from one nightmare into another. As the story progresses the nightmares get worse and worse, including to trips to graveyards, to asylums.

The use of sound in the game is brilliant and the use of 'Pleasantville' really adds to the drama. Again it is simple story telling but really impactful and dramatic.