Realism VS Expressionism –

1. What is your understanding of a realist mode of film making? can you think of examples of films that are realist from the ones we have watched?

‘This Is England’ directed by Shane meadows, depicts realism through large shot-camera angles and use of onset locations. Set in a time-period of turmoil as well in England, this creates an element of realism as the topics of racism and war (Falklands war) surrounds the plot and characters. With use of kitchen-sink realism the visual aesthetic further creates that effect of a realist mode and establishes the realism well for a spectator to reflect upon.

2. What is your understanding of an expressive mode of filmmaking? can you think of examples that are expressive?

‘Trainspotting’ Directed by Danny Boyle, shows an expressive mode through scenes where the character Mark Renton goes on a drug trip, with an example of such being when he overdoses, a POV shot of mark sinking into the carpet as it surrounds him shows the surrealism and expressionism of the altering effects made by film making.

3. To what extent does Eisenstein’s work merge the two ideas and how does he do this in strike?

With the use on an intellectual montage, the scene where both a cow is killed by butchers and the workers are shot dead this creates a merge between the 2 ideas of how the workers and really shown to be treated at the time but also the expressionism of comparing it to something regularly seen.

Another in Strike can be seen with the Mise-en-scene of the outfits, with the workers shown to be dressed in tatters and old clothes which was quite realistic at the time, the factory owners and soldiers in the army are dressed quite expressively with over the top hats and 3 piece suits.

Realist – The visual elements of This is England takes a documentary-style approach, this can be seen by Shane Meadows choosing not to colour grade the scenes and instead leaving them natural.

Expressionism – The narrative flow is interrupted in Joker when it is made clear that Arthur’s relationship with his neighbour was simply a figment of his imagination. This is emphasised by the cross cutting between the pair and the same scene but with Arthur alone.

Eisenstein combines these in Strike, as seen in the sixth part, during the intellectual montage in which the cow and workers are simultaneously killed, creating a visual metaphor in order to make the point that workers are exploited by the workplace and are gotten rid of once they’re no longer needed.

Realism: an example of realism would be the film This is England. Presenting real world issues in a grounded setting. It uses natural lighting with simple cinematography as well as non actors playing roles to feel more real and less dramatic. following kitchen sink realism feeling more like a documentary than a made up story.

Expressionism: an example of expressionism would be the film trainspotting. Having scenes that reflect Renton’s mindset opposing what is really happening as seen in where him rummaging through a toilet is instead shown as him swimming in the ocean. This results in more abstract scenes which play around more with lighting, mise en scene and cinematography.

strike: The film strike reflects both realism and expressionism. Having the film portray the issues the real world workers went through as well as presenting them realistically. However intellectual montage is used in the film having antagonists represent different animals and acting in ways that are out of touch with reality. The rich in the film are overexaggerated wearing overly expensive cloths and drinking luxury drinks showing how the film is the directors perspective of the workers rather than the complete truth.

realist mode- an example of realist mode is in the movie Moonlight, when Chiron hit the bully over the head with a chair, this is realist mode because we are on a POV shot. we are on the level of if we were sat on one of the class chair watching it happen when everyone else did.

expressive mode- an example of expressive mode is when we watched the movie Trainspotting, when he lost his pills and shot down the toilet. this is expressive because this did not actually happen, he did not go all the way into the toilet he just dunked his head in to find those pills.

Eisenstein- he mixed both of them in the movie strike, when he compared the workers to circus bears. this is a mix of both because it is not realist but it is about real people in real life, the bears are walking in chains but so are the workers. another example is when he put the distressed bear in chains, then it cuts to the scene of the workers working away in the factory.

What is your understanding of a realist mode of film making? Can you think of an example from a film we have watched.

The realist mode of film making is expressing an idea of a film without the use of dramatization and stylization. An example of this is This is England with its kitchen sink realism used to present its story and characters.

What is your understanding of an expressive mode of filmmaking? can you think of examples of films that are expressive.

The expressive mode of film making is expressing’s ideas in the film with an over the top nature and over dramatic tone. A good example of this is Bonnie and Clyde with the overtop energetic shootout scenes. Trainspotting also makes use of the expressionism movement and makes many over the top scenes presenting the effects of drugs.

To what extent does Einsenteisn work merge the two ideas and how does he do this in Strike

Eistenetin merges the two so he can create points for the audience but still keep its realism but use the expressionism to capture the audiences attention. An example of expressionism is the scenes with the chained up bears as this is used to present the real issue of animal cruelty. An example of realism in the film is the poor treatment of workers.

Intellectual montage –

An Intellectual Montage is used with scenes cutting between the workers being killed and a cow, this creates a visual comparison of how the workers are being ‘butchered’ by the oppressive government.

Metric Montage –

A metric montage is seen between scenes of a fire in a family home, with similarly timed shots, the fire service is being seen to not put out the fire which has ruined the families heirlooms but rather be put to use to try and disperse the crowd of workers on strike.

Tonal-Editing montage –

Shown through the scene where a young worker struggles to free himself from a door, shadowy lighting and tone is used to show his cramped position.

Rhythmic Montage –

A rhythmic montage is used in the scene where a mother realises her son has gone to play under the army officers horse, trying to get him out of harms way she hurriedly grabs him pushing the horse out the way and as a result is beaten upon by the soldier.

Over-tonal Montage –

An over-tonal montage is used in the scene where the workers attack the soldiers, as a result, scenes change to different tonal areas, such as bright open road to a more condensed shadowy factory sight.

Film 3: Bombita 

What did you like about the film? I liked the emotions portrayed by the actors and how it had lots of aspects of realism in it. It emphasized the plot, and it definitely works by attempting to connect to the audience, by using similar real-life struggles.	What didn’t you like? I didn’t particularly like the repetition of the same tone of the man throughout the whole short film, he just seemed miserable throughout, and it got quite repetitive, however it did show realism which I liked.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? I liked the variety of filming locations and set designs, it helped emphasize the narrative and made it more enjoyable to watch.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? I probably wouldn’t use the narrative, as I found it very repetitive. However, I did think it suited this film, I just wouldn’t use it for my film.

In-Depth study: All elements 

Feature	Example
Narrative structure	The short film had a very repetitive narrative structure, and lots of the scenes were at the towing companies and showed him struggling to get justice.
Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme	The characters had problems that focused on realism and were used in order to connect to the audience. For example, this scene shows him and his wife having marital problems.
Mise-en-scene	The mise-en-scene of the short film is heavily focused on the surroundings of the scenes, it emphasizes the other characters featured in the scenes, to give more of an effect to the performance of the main character.
Cinematography	An example of the cinematography in ’Bombita’ is this scene, in which the shot is taken as a POV of the ATM machine he is receiving the money from, it is cleverly used and potentially could be a metaphor for him assembling the bomb he uses to blow up the towing place.
Editing	The editing in ’Bombita’ is sudden and the scenes are shot suddenly to emphasize the quick impulsive decisions made by Simon.
Sound	An example of sound in ’Bombita’ is the explosion in the beginning, this could be used as a moment that foregrounds the catastrophe that is about to commence throughout the film.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film? 

Cinematography/Sound/Editing: I got inspired by the cinematography in Bombita and how certain scenes foreground the others.	Narrative structure: From the narrative structure, I was inspired by the realism used and how the film conveys real life scenarios.
Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme:  I liked the way they involved the main character’s family because it let us view Simon in a more empathetic way, knowing his struggles at home.	Creating enigmas: I was inspired by the enigma of the ending and how it abruptly ended because of the main character’s anger and impulsive personality.

(Cinematography image)

In-Depth study: All elements

Feature	Example
Narrative structure	The narrative structure is shown in a linear timeline of events unfolding due to the plot point.
Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme	The husband being suspected of cheating is revealed by the bribe who figures out a girl he spoke to shares the number of his male guitar teacher, this as a result sends the bride into insanity. With the happy wedding getting thrown into chaos as the deception is revealed and sends the bride into further lunacy with them eventually making up to a slow dance.
Mise-en-scene	All set in a large fancy hotel, with the characters dancing in the centre of it and seats to the side, this makes the events in the film feel as if us as the viewers are amongst the guests in the crowd watching them.
Cinematography	By using rack focuses and close ups, this creates a more intimate sense between the viewer and the bride as we are seeing eye to eye the emotions she feels.
Editing	With long scenes and cross cutting editing is used to make some scenes feel longer to take in more info. With cross cutting it established a bridge between events in the film.
Sound	Trans-diegetic sound is used during the last scene as its left up to the viewers interpretation if that the music is still playing for them dancing despite the chaos caused throughout the film or it is simply non-diegetic for the viewers’ pleasure.