Our group is planning on making our film based on the surrounding and scenery of Elizabeth Castle and the people there, our inspiration for the film is based on Wes Andersons films and the technique he uses, he tends to have main objects central of the frame.
On Wednesday we went to go visit some of the photo archives linking to Elizebeth Castle.
Photo archives—collections of photographs held by libraries or museums—have long been essential tools for research in the humanities.
Since 1993 Jersey Archive has collected over 300,000 archival records and it is the island’s national repository holding archival material from public institutions as well as private businesses and individuals. Jersey Archive is the Island’s national repository holding records on all aspects of Jersey’s history. Researchers can use archive resources to trace their family history, the story of their house or street and to find out more about over 600 years of our unique history including the German Occupation of Jersey during the Second World War.
Societe Jersiaise is where members of the public are able to access the content from the archives and gain information.
“Our mission is to produce and facilitate research on the Island’s history, culture, language and environment; and to share that knowledge with the widest possible audience for the benefit of our island community.”
Chris Marker, (1921-2012) was a French filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor and multi-media artist who has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his complex queries about time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet. Marker’s La Jetée is one of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made, a tale of time travel. What makes the film interesting for the purposes of this discussion, is that while in editing terms it uses the language of cinema to construct its narrative effect, it is composed entirely of still images showing images from the featureless dark of the underground caverns of future Paris, to the intensely detailed views across the ruined city, and the juxtaposition of destroyed buildings with the spire of the Eiffel Tower.
Le Jetee is about A man is sent back and forth and in and out of time in an experiment that attempts to unravel the fate and the solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world during the aftermath of WW3. The experiment results in him getting caught up in a perpetual reminiscence of past events that are recreated on an airport’s viewing pier.
Le Jetee is told through still images, and archival images, the photos represent similarities of WW2 in the fact it is talking about atomic bombs as they were last used in WW2 as world war 3 hasn’t happened yet.
Film narrative:
Narrative film: A fictional or fictionalized story. As opposed to documentaries (non-narrative films).
What is a narrative?
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional or fictional. Narratives can be presented through a sequence of written or spoken words, through still or moving images, or through any combination of these. A story that is told in a sequential order of events.
What is a film?
A series of moving images shown on a screen, usually with sound, that make up a story.
La Jetée ) is a 1962 French science fiction featurette directed by Chris Marker and associated with the Left Bank artistic movement. Chris Marker, (1921-2012) was a French filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor and multi-media artist who has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his complex queries about time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet. Marker’s La Jetée is one of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made, a tale of time travel. Furthermore what makes the film interesting for the purposes of discussion, is that while in editing terms it uses the language of cinema to construct its narrative effect, it is composed entirely of still images showing images from the featureless dark of the underground caverns of future Paris, to the intensely detailed views across the ruined city, and the juxtaposition of destroyed buildings with the spire of the Eiffel Tower.
La Jetee was composed of static images with a VoiceOver which provided the necessary information for the audience to understand the short film. The phrase ‘La Jetee’ translates to English as ‘The Pier’ more specifically ‘a small pier for use as a landing-place’ which relates to the meaning of the film. ‘The story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III’s devastation, told through still images‘ which suggests ‘The Pier’ connotes this idea that its his path to freedom once he is able to relive his memories he has forced to hide. Furthermore the main theme that La Jette is trying to explore is morality. As how the man lives to only find out the moment that has marked his entire life is the memory of his own death, from a philosophical point of view, La Jetee is an existentialist tale of doomed existence, inevitability, and predetermined death.
We are planning to create a film made up of a series of aesthetically based shots that focus on the individual components of the castle and its surroundings. Here are some short films that we may draw inspiration from.
We have also decided to draw inspiration from the work of multi-Oscar-winning director Wes Anderson. I think that the way he frames and arranges his shots is very thoroughly considered and this is a key characteristic of his films. He also adds pastel tints to the frames and this could be something we explore in post-production.
What is the Société Jersiaise?
The Société Jersiaise was founded in January 1873 by a small number of prominent Islanders who were interested in the study of the history, the language and the antiquities of Jersey. Membership grew quickly and the aims of the new society soon widened to include the publication of historical documents, the founding of a Museum, and the study of the Island’s natural history. The charity’s mission is “to produce and facilitate research, and to share that knowledge with the widest possible audience for the benefit of our island community.”
What we did
We began the day with a talk from the Chief Archivist Patrick Cahill and Assistant Archivist Rochelle Merhet about the importance of the archive and how it works. They told us that the Photographic Archive works to allow the island to see and understand its past with images that either depict exactly what happened at a certain point in history (photographs from the Nazi Occupation of the Island) as well as what is believed to have been there in the past (drawing of St Helier Harbour or drawings of the hermitage on the Elizabeth Castle breakwater as it looked in 555 AD).
Our plan for the film we are making is telling the history of the castle through the architecture, mainly the 1500 hundreds era and the WW2 era.
When we start the film, we will be exploring the old castle, the castle from when it was built in 1588 until the Battle of Jersey in 1781. We are hoping to be able to explore the entire area, especially the chapel of St Helier, where he lived until his death in 555 AD. We also are interested in filming the green areas and the main tower of the castle, as it has a view of most of the castle from it. The Parade Ground was rebuilt during the Georgian era to how it is seen today with an Officer’s Barracks that housed 12 officers; an Infantry Barracks that housed 300 men with 6 wives of the Garrison staying the attic; a canteen at the North end; the Ordinance Store at the South; and the Gym, Library and Fire Station next to the Ordinance Store, we may use these in our film. Using the sounds from around the castle we’re hoping to create a soundscape to play throughout this portion of the film along with some music. At the end of this part there will be a cannon sound and that’s where there will be a shift in atmosphere.
In the end segment of the film we will switch to showing the fortifications from the Second World War, with a much darker tone, we will explore the different artillery bunkers on both the East and West sides of the castle both have the original guns from when the bunkers were built, none of the castle has been changed until recently, these current changes are just refurbishment and won’t actually change any of the historical significance of these buildings. We will also be filming the different fortifications including the anti-tank gun, the guns on the bunkers and the anti-aircraft weaponry. This entire segment of the film will have quite a dark, gloomy atmosphere to it, we will have some melancholic music playing in the background and some crackling music playing throughout this part. A searchlight on rail-tracks could be wheeled out of its protective bunker under the Georgian Hospital to a position that could patrol the harbour. 100 Nazi Soldiers lived out at the castle and nothing has been changed at the castle until today. The majority of the bunkers are open to the public, with the guns being the originals and were never removed from their positions.
In both segments we will have some sort of voiceover describing what is happening in the film, or even some history of the area, some parts of the voiceover possibly being in French if there is French information posters around the place but our plan is to mainly use music and our soundscape instead of spoken facts.
The latest exhibition by Art House Jersey shows the work of multiple artists, and as the put it is an “ambitious exhibition that explores the idea of ‘home’ in the 21st Century”
The exhibition shows the works of multiple artists working in a range of mediums from sculpture to tapestry, painting to film. They believe that it will challenge people’s perceptions of what an art exhibition can be and has been designed to appeal to a broad variety of ages and not just for those with a firmly established interest in art.
“For many it will be a sanctuary, but for some it may have less positive associations. No Place Like Home builds a rich narrative and delves into personal stories, global issues, childhood memories, and speculative worlds as well as the bleak realities of the current housing market. The artists do not shy away from difficult issues, but rather tackle them with inventiveness, pathos, humour and a generosity of spirit. Alongside the gallery works, three installations will be announced in the coming weeks which will take their place in surprising settings around the Island.”
Laura Hudson and Rosalind Davis – Curators of ‘No Place Like Home’
