Coursework
Communication and Practice
Over the last two lectures, we have been looking at structuring paragraphs and how revision as a student is essential to ensure that work is concise and clear. One exercise that we did in class involved peer reviewing which I thought was very helpful as it allowed me to see my work from different perspectives. We were also asked to watch ‘Day and Fog’ by Alain Resnais which is a documentary using Nazi propaganda footage to display the horrors of the holocaust. I found the use of coloured and black and white footage was very effective in presenting the living memory of the victims as well as the narration worked well with the footage to show the graphic events that took place. We were also learning how questioning individuals can be strongly influenced by our previous knowledge and therefore will allow us to ask open-ended questions based on the interest of the questionee.
Film Narrative
Film narrative lectures over the past two weeks have been focused on teaching the basics of screenwriting in terms of how a script should be formatted and the do’s and don’ts of writing. I am new to screenwriting therefore a lot of valuable information was given during these lectures especially based on the types of vocabulary that should be used and grammar. I also found the script writing exercise very helpful as the personal and detailed feedback that was given allowed me to better understand my strengths and weaknesses in the area. We are also currently in the process of writing another assessed two-page script which covers a one-shot scene with dialogue. Although I find coming up with an original idea quite difficult, I very much enjoy writing once I have the idea therefore I am looking forward to handing in this assessment.
Workflow and Creative Camera Techniques
The main focus of these two weeks has been on exercise one which is intended to help us understand the difference between centre framing and the rule of thirds. After only using the high-quality equipment a few times our group was initially hesitant to hire it out. However, we felt comfortable after using the cameras a second time in the focal length exercise. The task of filming with two different types of composition definitely did require our group to think about how we could change each should so that it would suit the chosen composition. I found the idea of the rule of thirds especially difficult to get my head around as it's a concept that I wasn't previously aware of.
Although I found using the rule of thirds more challenging than centre framing I do think that the sense of balance and order that the composition can provide does aesthetically provide pleasant results which often stop there from being too much negative space however I also feel that this composition is very difficult to define precisely and often can be very complicated.
I preferred using centre framing as I was more familiar with the concept and stylistically made more sense to me than the use of the rule of thirds. However, I would also argue that the atmosphere created by centre framing is often limited as a result of the visual repetition which may feel unsettling or even uninteresting to the viewer.
3 Weekly Films
Hereditary - Ari Aster (2018)
As a huge horror fan, I was looking forward to hereditary despite having put off watching it for a long time. The story especially did not disappoint using a gripping and ‘edge of your seat’ style to create tension and fear rather than the use of jump scares. Although I personally much prefer jump scares within the horror genre I did feel that hereditary did still effectively engage me using graphic imagery and a twisty narrative.
Whiplash - Damien Chazelle (2014)
Having read the script as an assignment I wanted to rewatch whiplash as I wanted to see whether the pacing and rhythm of the screenplay would match up with the film. The film perfectly executed the screenplay in my opinion, removing some parts which I would have argued weren't necessary and using flashy cinematography alongside repetitive, piercing sound to replicate the contents of Andrew's mind.
The Room - Tommy Wiseau (2003)
I also watched the room this week after seeing the disaster artist a few weeks ago. I found the film to be unsurprisingly hilarious in its lessons on how not to make a film however I think it is also important to recognize how films like this can be just as important as highly regarded films with regard to their influence on cinema as it causes us to think about what didn’t work with the film.
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