COURSEWORK

Short film research and inspiration:

Bloody Mary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL485SVwlXU 

• Good use of sound with no visuals create a sense of mystery
• Hand held camera creates tension
• Lots of different camera angles, on floor, pov, etc
• Sound affects have been made louder to create a more atmospheric feeling
• Using phone as a camera the pov, creates an unsettling tone
• Jump scares with heavy use of sound

Night Shift: https://vimeo.com/247075867

• Hand held camera makes you feel connected to the character 
• Some parts are in slow motion which helps you connect with the character as she is doing a long night shift
• The narrative twist is very saddening and anyone can find sad even if not a mother but even more so if you are
• The plot is confusing at start but slowly unfolds into something that makes sense 

The Gunfighter:

• Very heavy use of narration 
• Costume and setting matches the time of the film
• Very simple plot   

Curfew:

• The main character goes through a clear character arc in 19 minutes from hating himself and wanting to kill himself to the end where he changes his mind for his niece 
• At the start they both hate each other and can't stand them being there but its the opposite at the end when they leave each other 
• Audio over laps between scenes which creates this bleeding affect between scenes for the audio
• This links in well with the theme of the film being about him cutting himself 

Technical ideas for films:

Once I started researching short films I came across a couple of first person films which really got my attention. I loved the fast paced pace of them and the way the way they are filmed. It is very different to the normal short films that I have researched and wrote up on. I feel like this could be easily achieved as I have a Go Pro and a body harness and head strap so I can get a couple of angles from chest and head shots. One of the films that I researched that aren't on the list of films we could research is called Trust Me. I'm not sure how practical this would be as I would need to do it mainly in one take which is highly unrealistic and if there was a cut it would need to be seamless. For example if I wanted to have a transition shot I would either need to have a black visual that can transition a shot from the end of one to the start of another. This could be very difficult to create and or replicate.  

Another idea would be that I do a modern take on a silent film and have it so all of the characters emotions are captured through music and subtle movements that the make. the narrative would have to be simple for this to work as there would be no spoken dialogue. As this is a modern take on silent cinema I would have texts show up on the screen if the characters are talking to show what they are saying. Another way of communicating the mood to the viewer could be music and what the music is saying which could relate to the visuals. The music that I would play would be very recognisable to what mood its portraying as I don't have long to showcase the characters and their emotions.

Film idea brainstorm:

• Modern take on a silent film with relatable problems to match the time (for example, love interests, problems, health and hobbies?)
• With this modern silent film idea I would have a narrative twist at the end that completely goes completely different to the theme of the film. 
• Have a clear link with music especially instrumental and not too much lyrics so that audience can interpret it how they want to, yet the narrative is still easy enough to follow

Instrumental music that would accompany the visuals:

• Chromatics - Tick Of The Clock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWD7k6TrJ-g
• Wolf Alice - Silk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_UzkKSM7Fw
• Gorillaz - Empire Ants Instrumental: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XehLviyf-gk
• Justin Hurwitz - Engagement Party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra3-RjB2wZA
• Justin Hurwitz - Mia & Sebastians Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b7nmkp6rJc
• Justin Hurwitz - Hermans Habit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=714_YZo-zTA 
• Justin Hurwitz - City of Stars (Humming): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpY7EMC92wA

For my film I would like to have a mixture of experimental and silent film. I want the film to only have audio coming from a song that will be played over the film. There will be no dialogue apart from the occasional spoken word from a character. The music will be the main source of emotion as I will be playing emotional music that is easy to recognise with a particular emotion. I want the cuts of the shots to be in tune to the music. (almost like a music video) This will create an connection between the visuals and audio.

The narrative of the film will be about a girl goes to work every day listening to her music and walks the normal route every day. She does this for a couple of takes until she hears a branch snap and takes out one of her ear buds and decides to look towards the sound. She stares at something with her reaction being emotional. There is a loud noise getting louder and louder and its her alarm clock waking her up in the morning which abruptly cuts to a close up of the time with her in bed. She wakes up differently this time she can sense that there is something wrong happening but does't know exactly what it is. When she gets out of bed she rubs her boyfriends shoulder who's back is to the camera. The camera angles are on more of a tilt compared to the other times she was getting ready for work so its clear to the audience that there is something going on. She gets ready to go to work and leaves the house. On her walk to work again she walks to the same place as before and hears the same noise in the same place. She decides to investigate what the sound was and she comes back to       

      

Wong Kar-wai

Wong Kar-wai, BBS (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized work, including As Tears Go By (1988), Days of Being Wild (1990), Ashes of Time (1994), Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), Happy Together (1997), 2046 (2004) and The Grandmaster (2013). His film In the Mood for Love (2000), starring Maggie Cheungand Tony Leung, notably garnered widespread critical acclaim.

Wong's films frequently feature protagonists who yearn for romance in the midst of a knowingly brief life and scenes that can often be described as sketchy, digressive, exhilarating, and containing vivid imagery.^[1]

One of the most visually entrancing filmmakers working today, Wong Kar-Wai is a man who creates films filled with dazzling images and characters with a sense of romanticism. Known for his broad ideas and unconventional techniques in the realm of filmmaking, he is an individual that refuses to play by the rules. He brings both Asian sensibility and French New Wave cinematic techniques to each of his stories. After finally making his return in 2013, with his Ip Man bio-pic The Grandmaster, it is clear that there is no other filmmaker like Wong Kar-Wai working today.

Born in Shanghai, China on July 17, 1958, Wong Kar-Wai moved to Hong Kong when he was five years-old. His mother introduced him to many different aspects of cinema ranging from the films of Hong Kong to 1960s French New Wave. After spending two years studying graphic design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic College in 1980, he enrolled in the Hong Kong Television Broadcast Limited course for production training and he learned the art of screenwriting. Kar-Wai took part in in an apprenticeship during this period which brought him to the attention of renowned Hong Kong producer Alan Tang.

Tang hired Kar-Wai to write scripts for various movies ranging from romantic-comedies to action films. Though they scripts were successful, and helped him to get a lot of work, it was clear that Kar-Wai wanted something more. Fortunately, it was Tang who ultimately gave Kar-Wai the chance to helm his first feature film. 

Last Period script

Untitled 

EXT rough estate mid-day  

SHANE is walking through an empty rough estate and listening to hard drill music wearing tracksuit bottoms, hoodie and a cap.     

Shane's phone rings phone rings he picks up the phone   

SHANE 

Yo, 

FRIEND 

Yo, what happened? You didn't come back with us last night. Where were you? 

Shane pinches the top of his nose clearly in pain from last night before taking a brief pause  

SHANE 

Nah, I don't shag and tell. 

Friend laughing 

FRIEND 

Get in there! She was well fit.  

Shane smiles to himself 

SHANE 

Yeah man, I don't know if I'll see her again. You know them tings.  

FRIEND 

Yeah, I get you. 

Sighing  

SHANE 

So, how was your night? 

FRIEND 

Yeah it was great I met this girl and 

Shane shakes his head and cuts him off as he's about to go to the job center to job seek.  

SHANE 

Sorry mate I've got to go, I'm at work now, tell me when I see you later.  

Shane walks into the job center with his head down still in his tracksuit bottoms and hoodie. He is holding his head from last night clearly still hungover.   

EXT outside the job center 

Shane walks outside then sits on the steps sighing with his head in his hands, Shane gets a phone call from an unknown number. 

SHANE  

Urgh, hello? 

STACEY  

Hi its Stacey... 

Shane looks confused whispers to himself. Pressing his phone against his shoulder  

SHANE 

Stacey, Stacey, Stacey? 

Shane has a look of realization, puts the phone to his ear. 

SHANE 

Ohhhh Staceyy!! How are you darling?  

STACEY  

Yeah, I just wondered if you wanted to come over tonight? 

SHANE  

Yeah sure babe  

STACEY  

Cool, oh before I forget can you bring drinks? 

Winters Bone techniques

Winters Bone Techniques Used

• Hand held camera 
• Lens flare
• Chiaroscuro
• Non actors 
• Some trained actors
• Some actors are family 
• Mostly natural lighting 
• Super 8 camera used in flashback
• Real set no studio used 
• Clothes an't made for the film they are 2nd hand
• $2,000,000 budget for entire film 
• $6,500,000 money made
• Natural weather 
• Some exposition but not much
• Improvisation used throughout between Ree and Teardrop
• Active spectatiorship is encouraged due to the lack of exposition 
• Low key lighting used most of the time 
• Strong use of guns and violence from the male characters

Winters Bone

Winter’s Bone

We start with a shot of Dolly washing her face in the sink and her brother and sister playing on the sofa. We then get a shot of Dolly cooking some food by cutting up some potatoes and putting them in the pan. The room that they are in is very cluttered and dimly lit, The only source of light is coming out of the window which has a red curtain over it. All of the things that Dolly is doing are something that we would expect a mother to do. This isn’t the case because Dolly is doing it. From the start of the film we can clearly see that Dolly will be doing all of the work and is the main mother and or father figure to her brother and sister. Dolly then opens the fridge and pulls out a tub of food that is for the dog . She then opens it and sniffs inside it and says “Better than nothing”. This is food for the dog, later on in the film we find out that they haven't fed their horse for 4 days. There is a clear pattern of lack of food. Even the food that Dolly is putting on is very plain and sparse, only potatoes. Dollys sister then takes the dog food outside and the dog is chained to a pole outside their house. The dogs tail is wagging and the dog looks to be very excited to be eating, this may be the case with the horse. This may be the dogs only source of food for a while. The dog's rib cage is clearly visible which is another indicator that the dog doesn’t get fed as often as he should.

One of the next shots is through a mirror showing Dolly brushing her mum’s hair. The mirror has a large hairline crack in the middle of it. The line is cutting through Dolly. I think that this represents the split personality that she has. She aspires to be a part of the army and be a mother and or father figure for her brother and sister. In this shot we see that Dolly is brushing her mom's hair. This backs up my point that she wants to be a mother and a caring figure because she is doing something that a mother would do to their child. We then get a mid shot of her brother walking in with a dog in his hands. Dolly asks “who’s this?” Her brother responds with “peanut butter” Dolly says back “where did you find peanut butter?” The brother responds with “in the woods” Dolly strokes it in his hands. This shot is the same shot that we left off at. It clearly looks like Dolly is the image of a mother figure, she is taller than everyone else in the room and doing things motherly while her Mum is in the room. We then get a tracking shot of Dolly with her brother and her sister walking down a path. Dolly is helping her sister spell house. Her sister is struggling and Dolly is helped her. Her sister at this age should know how to spell. This shows that she isn’t educated and that it’s hard to teach when Dolly has lots of things to do as well as teach her brother and sister.