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Film: An Odyssey, Questions

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1) The first film made by the Lumiere Brothers was called ‘Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory’ Which was a film, showing off exactly what the films name says. But, the first film that was publicly shown in a film theater that they made, was called ‘Arrival Of a Train At La Ciotat’.

2) A Phantom Ride is when a camera is put on front of a train or a car while it’s moving. It gives off the effect of a phantom flying through the sky, which is where it gets its name from.

3) The Sick Kitten was ground breaking because it was the first use of a close in film, when the film zooms in on the kitten eating. While the Life Of An American Fireman was ground breaking, because it was the first use of continuity editing. However, this was only true for the seconded version of the film. As the first version of the film, showed off the same sv version of the film. As the first version of the film, showed off the same scene twice, but from different angles. While the second version shows off one scene, from different angles as the story progress’. Which is continuity editing.

4) Florance Lawrance was the first film star. She became famous, after she was the first publicly named film star. Audiences’ were shocked, when she was believed to be dead, but then going on to appear in another film. She died in 1938.

5) DW Griffen Directed A Birth of A Nation. The film showed off examples of some of the best film work of the time, however, the subject matter of the film was based around racism and lynching people of color. It also re-started the KKK movement.

6) Cousin’s said that The Danish had the best film industry in 1910.

7) Cousin said that : Urban Gad – The Abyss, was an incredible film. This was due to the naturalistic movement of the actress in the film. As well as that, He said that: Benjamin Christiansen – Haxan, was a reachable film, sue to its story telling.

Film Role 2 (pages / portfolio), Film Role 3 (pages / portfolio)

French New Wave – “Breathless”

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Breathless – French New Wave 

  Image result for breathlessBreathless is a film directed by Jean Luc – Godard in 1960. It is a film which was part of the French New Wave film movement. The film was filmed in Paris on sight. This was because breathless had a low budget, around £15,000, which is an extremely low budget for a film. Continuing with this theme of a low budget, the whole film was recorded in black and white in order to save money. However, this also contributed to the films feeling of Noir.    Image result for breathlessThe idea of film Noir is a big idea in this film. From the black and white film reel, to the stereotype of a chain-smoking man in a suit and fedora. Both contribute to the Film Noir style. This film set the standards for Film Noir in the future, any other Noir Film you see will almost seem like or make references to this film. For instance, films such as Blade runner and a Touch of Evil depict dark worlds, in which we follow a dark character (though in Blade Runner is a police officer) through chase sequences, and the main character being either a detective or on the wrong side of the law. Either way, the police Is usual involved in some way. However, Blade runner is a little different because the film is in color. However, in the intro for instance, the shots of the city are very dark. This is a theme throughout the film, although they have access to color, the film tends to steer away from using color in its shits when it can. Keeping with the idea of Noir being black and white. As we as all that, in Noir films the characters tend to smoke a lot. I think this had to do with how mysterious the main character usually is, using smoke to hide their appearance.   
As well as that, this film was made during The French New Wave film movement. This film shows its references to this, by making an unconventional film. Some scenes in the film show off stuff that audiences weren’t used to seeing at the time, and even to this day, some parts of the film and the script seem odd. For instance, there’s one scene in a hotel room, which takes up about 25 mins of the film. This was certainly an odd choice. As well as that, the script can be quite random at times, going from talking about how their day is going, to Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) asking Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg) to sleep with him, in what seems to be like one sentence. 
Film Role 2 (pages / portfolio)

Use of Soviet Montage in ‘Strike’

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Use of Soviet Montage in Strike 

  This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-11.jpeg‘Strike’ is Sergi Eisenstein’s first full-length film, released in 1925. ‘Strike’ is a silent film about the workers at a factor, who are mistreated, and go on a strike until their demands are met. Eisenstein was one of the first students of the USSRs first film schools, known as the Moscow film academy. At this academy, they couldn’t film their own stuff just yet, because the USSR were low on recourses at the time. Instead, they got old films and cut them up in order to practice editing. That is why Eisenstein made some of them best editing work of his time.   Russian montage uses quick cuts to show off a lot in a short amount of time. One use of this, is in the first scene, in which we’re shown the factory workers working. We’re shown short clips, no longer then a couple seconds, of the workers faces. This is a use of montage, it gives the audience the feeling that the film is going faster than it really is. Here, he is using Metric editing in order to give the film its tempo.  Image result for strike sergei eisenstein cowAs well as that, Eisenstein uses Montage in order to show multiple events that are occurring at the same time. For instance, when the workers are revolting against the factory, the shots we are shown keep switching between two of the workers having a fight with one of the owners, while we are also shown all the workers running out of the factory and becoming free. At some point in the film, he uses another method of editing called “Over-Tonal Editing”, which combines three methods of editing. This includes, Metric editing, Rhythmic editing, and a third one I haven’t talked about yet, called Tonal editing, which focus on the lighting in the shot. However, my next example is a perfect use of this anyway. In the intro scene, the series of shots we are shown consist of workers doing their jobs at the factor, to a couple workers plotting against the capitalists (shown above). 
Image result for strike sergei eisenstein cow
Eisenstein’s favourite method used throughout the film, is the Intellectual method. This is used a couple time throughout, from the characters named after animals, to the cow being slaughtered. When, for instance, the Owl is introduced, the film shows us his face for a second, and then cuts to an Owl, then back to his face. This subconsciously shows us that this character is like an owl, hunting a night. Then, when the cow gets slaughtered later, it keeps cutting from the cow being cut open, back to the factor workers being hit. This is meant to allow the audience to see that the workers are like animals to the slaughter. This helps the audience bring new meaning to the shots the film is showing us, this shows how Eisenstein is using the art form of film to its biggest potential, as showing two consecutive shots is what makes film unique to any other form of art.   As a final note, I’d just like to mention how I think this film was also big on the development in technology in film. This is because, there are techniques and transitions in this film that were rare for the time. For instance, there’s one shot near the start when the camera is looking into a puddle. This shot is reversed, showing it backwards give off a great effect, and reveals the factor to us in a unique way. As well as that, there’s a lot of layering film over each other in this film. This is when two bits of film are shown at the same time, allowing us to see, for instance, a face in the sky. It gives the film a feeling of being supernatural. 
Film Role 3 (pages / portfolio)

The Cabinet of Dr. Calagarie – Mise- En-Scene

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The Cabinet Of Dr.Calagarie and the use of German Expressionism 

 

The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920) was a film directed by Robert Wiene. This was one of the most influential films at the time it was made, for many reasons. 

 

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-12.jpegFirst, throughout the film the Mise-En-Scene of the film was unique compared to anything that had come before it. Objects in the scenery, such as buildings, chairs and doorways are made to look extremely distorted, compared to reality. This was mainly done to reflect what Germans people’s minds were thinking at the time. They had just come out of World War one with a massive loss. Everyone in the country felt like the world was distorted, with poverty and a lack of jobs. It’s also done as part of the film, as it’s revealed at the end of the story that the protagonist is actual insane. He makes up everything in the story, we’re seeing his distorted view on reality. This is all done in order to put the audience off and make them feel uneasy intently.  

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-13.jpegAnother good example of things not looking how they should, is the character Cesare. His facial features look weird compared to everyone else in the film. He’s very pale with round black eyes. This was used to influence other characters in the future, such as Edward Scissor Cesare also seems to have a thousand-yard stare, sometimes staring straight into the camera. This use of breaking the forth wall is another use of Mise-En-Scene that makes the audience uneasy. When Cesare is reveled to the audience, it is shown through a close up. Allowing us to see all of his facial details, the dramatic make up and odd-looking face give the audience a feeling of being uneasy, and unsettle them, it lets the audience guess that Cesare is an odd character, there isn’t something quite right about him. 

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-14.jpegThe cinematographer for this film, Willy Hameister, famously uses an iris in this film for certain shots. He uses an iris in order to force the audience to focus in on a certain character. For instance, there’s one time the camera focus in on Dr.Calagarie. This is to let the audience know that he is the center of the shot, the main point of focus, by only allowing us to see Dr.Calagarie. As well as that, there is another scene where an Iris is used when focusing on Cesare. This shot is suddenly cut in out of nowhere, which is meant to shock the audience. This ’close up’, along with the iris giving the audience the feeling of being pulled closer to Cesare. This use of cinematography with editing, was revolutionary for the time, and shocked audiences. 

As well as that, there was a Technique used called an ‘Iris Wipe’ which was commonly used in silent films. The technique is basically, an iris closes on the lens of the camera as far as it can go, and then a blank piece of card is placed in front of the camera to give the impression that it closed all the way.