Just a quick update on my progress.
After having completed my research i believe i know which way i want to steer my production.
This means i have started looking in to developing my character and his world, then i will move in to writing my script.
Friday, 5 February 2016
Friday, 29 January 2016
Shooting Style Idea
I have had a new idea on how to shoot the film.
I have nearly decided that i want to shoot in a POV style. Where the majority of the film will be shown through the eyes of the protagonist, on his journey, with occasional cuts back to wide shots for setting establishment.
But for this to work i would need to be able to figure out a rig for my phone to sit in whilst i shoot in the POV style, or try and shoot it hand held.
But i like this idea because of the fact it allows me to shoot the majority of the film myself, without having to rely on any acting talent, which means i would just need a second team member to cover audio recording.
Or if i wanted to do full scale audio production i could even use foley sound for all of the film, and have a silent protagonist, as a throwback to the early film noir style. But this would involve me having a rather large sound list of noise to track down or create myself.
Furthermore i can also use the battery powered LED lighting for easy transport when on location which means i cn then have some control over the lighting conditions as long as i am not outside.
I have nearly decided that i want to shoot in a POV style. Where the majority of the film will be shown through the eyes of the protagonist, on his journey, with occasional cuts back to wide shots for setting establishment.
But for this to work i would need to be able to figure out a rig for my phone to sit in whilst i shoot in the POV style, or try and shoot it hand held.
But i like this idea because of the fact it allows me to shoot the majority of the film myself, without having to rely on any acting talent, which means i would just need a second team member to cover audio recording.
Or if i wanted to do full scale audio production i could even use foley sound for all of the film, and have a silent protagonist, as a throwback to the early film noir style. But this would involve me having a rather large sound list of noise to track down or create myself.
Furthermore i can also use the battery powered LED lighting for easy transport when on location which means i cn then have some control over the lighting conditions as long as i am not outside.
Characterization in Neo Noir - Study - Marvel's Jessica Jones
To look at characterization in Neo Noir i have taken a relatively new TV series, Marvel's Jessica Jones, however with it's main story arc it could be turned in to a feature film, if you removed a lot of the minor sub plots. However i am here to just look at character.
Released in full to Netflix on 20th November 2015 this series follows the central character of Jessica Jones. A Private eye with superpowers, a drinking problem and PTSD.
Now if we compare this to the archetype of psychopath defined in Hitchcock's work, you could say that Jones' elements are lending herself to be a villain. However this is not the way.
Neo Noir prides itself on being able to use what they call the 'Anti-Hero' Archetype. The anti-hero being defined as someone who functions outside the mainstream and challenges it.
This is something the character of Jessica Jones does effectively. This is shown throughout the episodes by having undefined morals, but she has a set goal. For example she will take on cases to try and expose a cheating spouse but has the morals to look after her drug addict neighbor. Furthermore this questionable moral compass is shown again when she has no qualm about throwing herself in to danger but won't let her half-sister come to help her.
So effectively the characterization of a Neo Noir character can be argued to nearly break in to the villainous archetypes but they don't fully breakthrough. They teeter dangerously on the edge, delving in to the darker side of their psyches when they need to do some dirty work to achieve their goal, but forever trying to fix the fallout from their turbulent lives.
Bibliography
- http://www.avclub.com/article/jessica-jones-fourth-episode-gets-back-its-film-no-228752
- http://www.avclub.com/review/marvels-jessica-jones-hard-boiled-feminist-neo-noi-228436
- http://www.geek.com/news/5-things-you-should-know-before-watching-jessica-jones-on-netflix-1639767/
- http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/nov/20/noir-nights-and-superpowered-sex-everything-you-need-to-know-about-marvels-jessica-jones
- http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/glossary/index.asp
Released in full to Netflix on 20th November 2015 this series follows the central character of Jessica Jones. A Private eye with superpowers, a drinking problem and PTSD.
Now if we compare this to the archetype of psychopath defined in Hitchcock's work, you could say that Jones' elements are lending herself to be a villain. However this is not the way.
Neo Noir prides itself on being able to use what they call the 'Anti-Hero' Archetype. The anti-hero being defined as someone who functions outside the mainstream and challenges it.
This is something the character of Jessica Jones does effectively. This is shown throughout the episodes by having undefined morals, but she has a set goal. For example she will take on cases to try and expose a cheating spouse but has the morals to look after her drug addict neighbor. Furthermore this questionable moral compass is shown again when she has no qualm about throwing herself in to danger but won't let her half-sister come to help her.
So effectively the characterization of a Neo Noir character can be argued to nearly break in to the villainous archetypes but they don't fully breakthrough. They teeter dangerously on the edge, delving in to the darker side of their psyches when they need to do some dirty work to achieve their goal, but forever trying to fix the fallout from their turbulent lives.
Bibliography
- http://www.avclub.com/article/jessica-jones-fourth-episode-gets-back-its-film-no-228752
- http://www.avclub.com/review/marvels-jessica-jones-hard-boiled-feminist-neo-noi-228436
- http://www.geek.com/news/5-things-you-should-know-before-watching-jessica-jones-on-netflix-1639767/
- http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/nov/20/noir-nights-and-superpowered-sex-everything-you-need-to-know-about-marvels-jessica-jones
- http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/glossary/index.asp
Friday, 22 January 2016
Noir Story Telling Via Music
To look at other areas of storytelling i looked towards music. Specifically concept albums. These types of albums allow for the creation of a character, a world, and then a journey for that character to flow through as told via the artists impressions.
To do this i took two different artists from different backgrounds and styles of music and also made sure they weren't of the same nationality.
These artists being Toronto's Fucked Up and their album 'David Comes to Life' and England's Plan B and his album 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks'.
These albums were chosen because of the fact they are roughly of the same length and share similarities in structure as they have a central character set in their fictional world and the album follows the story the character has to go on.
However they do have differences, for example Fucked Up's album ends on a massive plot twist and then can reset back to the beginning, where as Plan B's record ends on a cliffhanger and leaves it an open ended interpretation for the listener.
From analyzing these two albums i have found that they both follow the basic narrative structure of Todorov's Three Act structure, where there is the happy or normal beginning, the problematic middle and then the resolution at the end, whether it be happy or sad, it ends.
For example in David Comes to Life, the 2nd track, Queen of Hearts, is where get our first introduction to the story world and our central character David.
Bibliography
- http://www.vulture.com/2011/06/fucked_up_explain_the_epic_tal.html
- http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/flint/index.ssf/2011/05/in_defamation_plan_b_tells_sto.html
- http://www.indiana.edu/~audioweb/T206/three-act.html
To do this i took two different artists from different backgrounds and styles of music and also made sure they weren't of the same nationality.
These artists being Toronto's Fucked Up and their album 'David Comes to Life' and England's Plan B and his album 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks'.
These albums were chosen because of the fact they are roughly of the same length and share similarities in structure as they have a central character set in their fictional world and the album follows the story the character has to go on.
However they do have differences, for example Fucked Up's album ends on a massive plot twist and then can reset back to the beginning, where as Plan B's record ends on a cliffhanger and leaves it an open ended interpretation for the listener.
From analyzing these two albums i have found that they both follow the basic narrative structure of Todorov's Three Act structure, where there is the happy or normal beginning, the problematic middle and then the resolution at the end, whether it be happy or sad, it ends.
For example in David Comes to Life, the 2nd track, Queen of Hearts, is where get our first introduction to the story world and our central character David.
This can also be seen in The Defamation of Strickland Banks, in track 1 and 2, Love Goes Down and Writing's on the Wall, where the character of Strickland is having a good time and this also carries on and leads to the second problematic act with the songs Stay Too Long and She Said.
Furthermore through David Comes To Life, we realize that David as a character is becoming self aware and breaking the metaphorical fourth wall, however all the while we as an audience are watching his plight from behind a fifth wall, so it could work as an interesting story direction.
Furthermore through David Comes To Life, we realize that David as a character is becoming self aware and breaking the metaphorical fourth wall, however all the while we as an audience are watching his plight from behind a fifth wall, so it could work as an interesting story direction.
But after delving into the structure of these albums, i can see a very specific choice for myself to apply to my film. This choice being do i want to end on a true resolution, a cliff hanger, or do i want to make it cyclical and have it almost as a never ending loop.
Bibliography
- http://www.vulture.com/2011/06/fucked_up_explain_the_epic_tal.html
- http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/flint/index.ssf/2011/05/in_defamation_plan_b_tells_sto.html
- http://www.indiana.edu/~audioweb/T206/three-act.html
Friday, 15 January 2016
Film Purchases and Shooting Style
Just a quick update on my film.
I have decided that it is going to be shot on my phone and use external sound for the dialogue and audio heard within the footage.
This was a creative decision and furthermore allows me to challenge myself as a film-maker.
To do this i will be using my phone a Sony Xperia Z5. It has a 23 megapixel, quick focus camera built in to it, and can shoot in full HD. This will allow for easy on the go shooting and also means i will carry less heavy gear when i am out and about on location.
To further this i have bought some equipment to help me shoot on my mobile.
This consist of different lenses for my phone's camera, to give me a wider choice of shots when i go to film the piece. These lenses are of a high quality and are made a company called Aukey.
The lenses themselves are: Wide Angle, Macro, Fisheye, 2x Telephoto and a Super Wide angle.
Now so that all the footage isn't hand held, i decided to buy a light weight tripod. The tripod itself is made by Velbon and is a CX-888 model. The tripod, is built sturdy and has rubberized feet for stability on uneven shooting surfaces.
But to actually attach my phone to this tripod i needed a grip mount. The option i went for was a JOBY mount, which uses a spring loaded holder, so that the phone doesn't end up falling out of it and therefore remains focused on the shot.
Now that i have this option set down in stone, i can decide where i want to shoot, who i want to shoot and what i want to see on the screen. However this is a path that i am still unsure of and need to develop.
I have decided that it is going to be shot on my phone and use external sound for the dialogue and audio heard within the footage.
This was a creative decision and furthermore allows me to challenge myself as a film-maker.
To do this i will be using my phone a Sony Xperia Z5. It has a 23 megapixel, quick focus camera built in to it, and can shoot in full HD. This will allow for easy on the go shooting and also means i will carry less heavy gear when i am out and about on location.
To further this i have bought some equipment to help me shoot on my mobile.
This consist of different lenses for my phone's camera, to give me a wider choice of shots when i go to film the piece. These lenses are of a high quality and are made a company called Aukey.
The lenses themselves are: Wide Angle, Macro, Fisheye, 2x Telephoto and a Super Wide angle.
Now so that all the footage isn't hand held, i decided to buy a light weight tripod. The tripod itself is made by Velbon and is a CX-888 model. The tripod, is built sturdy and has rubberized feet for stability on uneven shooting surfaces.
But to actually attach my phone to this tripod i needed a grip mount. The option i went for was a JOBY mount, which uses a spring loaded holder, so that the phone doesn't end up falling out of it and therefore remains focused on the shot.
Now that i have this option set down in stone, i can decide where i want to shoot, who i want to shoot and what i want to see on the screen. However this is a path that i am still unsure of and need to develop.
Friday, 8 January 2016
Research Notes - Early To Recent Film Noir
Looking at Fritz Lang's film Metropolis (1927), we as an audience can start to see some of the earliest forms of Film Noir conventions coming in to play.
For Example;
- High Contrast lighting (Show the harshness of the 'world')
- Tilted/Canted camera angles (Show disjointed worlds)
- Deep Focus (To show the subjectivity)
- A mobile camera style (To show subjectivity and to lose the sense of the stationary world)
- Atmospheric locations such as shadowy mazes (To show the journeys the character goes through, and the trips in to the unknown)
- Use of disjointed set blocking (The use of loads of angles and diagonal lines within the set design, used to further the effect of the disjointed world and characters)
- Using a 'highlighting' technique (Used to draw attention or focus to an object being depicted using visuals and not dialogue)
You could argue that these are the base framework for Film Noir to create upon but furthering this was work done by Alfred Hitchcock when he 'Americanized' Film Noir. The main body of work being 'Psycho' (1960).
Psycho built upon this framework, but furthered it via it's use of characterization and the dialogue that these characters use.
This was done by using character archetypes. He used the femme fatale archetype within this film, which would soon become a 'trope' for the Americanized Film Noir. This archetype is described as the attractive woman that effectively leads the male character to self-destruction.
In this film the femme fatale is Marion Crane played by Janet Leigh, whose attractiveness leads to the character of Norman Bates, portrayed by Anthony Perkins, to go against his rules for murder and leads to him being found out further in the plot.
The character of Norman Bates, is the other archetype Hitchcock employed, that became another trope in Americanized Film Noir. This is the archetype of the damaged, quiet psychopath.
Traditionally, psychopaths were portrayed as camp villains in other more straightforward films in the 60's, so to see a portrayal of a psychopath, who in theorem could just fit in to regular society and then have the knowledge to cover their tracks was terrifying to audiences at the time, and still sticks around today in various formats, for example look to recent TV series such as; FX's 'Dexter' and NBC's 'Hannibal'. They both employ this edited psychopath Archetype.
Now moving forward to more recent additions to Film Noir, specifically American Neo Noir.
For this we will be looking at the Sin City series by Frank Miller and Directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Now with this film, we have to remember because it would be classed as what i see as 'Neo Noir' it is not a direct correlation with many of Film Noir's laid down framework. You could say it has molded it's own Neo Noir framework upon them.
This being said it still pays homage with it's nearly completely black and white depiction, it also shows a world under duress and struggling to hold itself together at the seams. Furthermore it also employs the edited psychopath archetype seen in Hitchcock's Psycho but instead of one character having this, multiple characters have this archetype within Sin City's narrative.
This is a furthering in to Neo Noir. The addition of multiple characters and multiple intertwining story arcs, is something that has been seen before in American cinema, just look towards Tarantino's body of work through the early 90's specifically 'Pulp Fiction' being his 'piece de resistance' if you will. Coincidentally he guest directs a scene within Sin City, with a talking corpse as it's focal point.
Moving forward on this scene. This displays another key point in Neo Noir. This is where we as an audience are given a deeper look in to the psyche of our characters via surreal situations. For example in this scene we see Dwight talking to the dead corpse of Jackie Boy, giving an insight in to Dwight's broken mind, and the internal struggle of fight or flight when faced with the situation he has landed in.
So to break this down Neo Noir, builds upon the base framework of Film Noir, but adapts and adds to it by using;
- Multiple characters and archetypes
- Multiple intertwining stories and character arcs
- Deeper evaluation of characters psyche
Bibliography
-http://www.filmeducation.org/metropolis/pdf/Metropolis_Further_study.pdf
-http://www.classic-monsters.com/fritz-lang-creator-film-noir/
-http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/glossary/index.asp
-https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RsBHnZoyO4kC&pg=PA72&dq=film+noir+techniques&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz17rCv_zKAhXBWRQKHXDwAuwQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=film%20noir%20techniques&f=false
-http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/psycho.html
-http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Psycho
-http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/film-noir-for-dummies-sin-city-a-dame-to-kill-for-rev-1625485550
-https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RsBHnZoyO4kC&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380&dq=Film+Noir+Robert+Rodriguez+Sin+City&source=bl&ots=BNOqYx7Avz&sig=YuljeFHXN0KoeDEYKiav3JgCRr0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5qIPtx_zKAhVLWRQKHSCXCRgQ6AEIQzAG#v=onepage&q=Film%20Noir%20Robert%20Rodriguez%20Sin%20City&f=false
-http://noirwhale.com/2011/09/29/film-noir-sin-city-2005/
For Example;
- High Contrast lighting (Show the harshness of the 'world')
- Tilted/Canted camera angles (Show disjointed worlds)
- Deep Focus (To show the subjectivity)
- A mobile camera style (To show subjectivity and to lose the sense of the stationary world)
- Atmospheric locations such as shadowy mazes (To show the journeys the character goes through, and the trips in to the unknown)
- Use of disjointed set blocking (The use of loads of angles and diagonal lines within the set design, used to further the effect of the disjointed world and characters)
- Using a 'highlighting' technique (Used to draw attention or focus to an object being depicted using visuals and not dialogue)
You could argue that these are the base framework for Film Noir to create upon but furthering this was work done by Alfred Hitchcock when he 'Americanized' Film Noir. The main body of work being 'Psycho' (1960).
Psycho built upon this framework, but furthered it via it's use of characterization and the dialogue that these characters use.
This was done by using character archetypes. He used the femme fatale archetype within this film, which would soon become a 'trope' for the Americanized Film Noir. This archetype is described as the attractive woman that effectively leads the male character to self-destruction.
In this film the femme fatale is Marion Crane played by Janet Leigh, whose attractiveness leads to the character of Norman Bates, portrayed by Anthony Perkins, to go against his rules for murder and leads to him being found out further in the plot.
The character of Norman Bates, is the other archetype Hitchcock employed, that became another trope in Americanized Film Noir. This is the archetype of the damaged, quiet psychopath.
Traditionally, psychopaths were portrayed as camp villains in other more straightforward films in the 60's, so to see a portrayal of a psychopath, who in theorem could just fit in to regular society and then have the knowledge to cover their tracks was terrifying to audiences at the time, and still sticks around today in various formats, for example look to recent TV series such as; FX's 'Dexter' and NBC's 'Hannibal'. They both employ this edited psychopath Archetype.
Now moving forward to more recent additions to Film Noir, specifically American Neo Noir.
For this we will be looking at the Sin City series by Frank Miller and Directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Now with this film, we have to remember because it would be classed as what i see as 'Neo Noir' it is not a direct correlation with many of Film Noir's laid down framework. You could say it has molded it's own Neo Noir framework upon them.
This being said it still pays homage with it's nearly completely black and white depiction, it also shows a world under duress and struggling to hold itself together at the seams. Furthermore it also employs the edited psychopath archetype seen in Hitchcock's Psycho but instead of one character having this, multiple characters have this archetype within Sin City's narrative.
This is a furthering in to Neo Noir. The addition of multiple characters and multiple intertwining story arcs, is something that has been seen before in American cinema, just look towards Tarantino's body of work through the early 90's specifically 'Pulp Fiction' being his 'piece de resistance' if you will. Coincidentally he guest directs a scene within Sin City, with a talking corpse as it's focal point.
Moving forward on this scene. This displays another key point in Neo Noir. This is where we as an audience are given a deeper look in to the psyche of our characters via surreal situations. For example in this scene we see Dwight talking to the dead corpse of Jackie Boy, giving an insight in to Dwight's broken mind, and the internal struggle of fight or flight when faced with the situation he has landed in.
So to break this down Neo Noir, builds upon the base framework of Film Noir, but adapts and adds to it by using;
- Multiple characters and archetypes
- Multiple intertwining stories and character arcs
- Deeper evaluation of characters psyche
Bibliography
-http://www.filmeducation.org/metropolis/pdf/Metropolis_Further_study.pdf
-http://www.classic-monsters.com/fritz-lang-creator-film-noir/
-http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/glossary/index.asp
-https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RsBHnZoyO4kC&pg=PA72&dq=film+noir+techniques&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz17rCv_zKAhXBWRQKHXDwAuwQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=film%20noir%20techniques&f=false
-http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/psycho.html
-http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Psycho
-http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/film-noir-for-dummies-sin-city-a-dame-to-kill-for-rev-1625485550
-https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RsBHnZoyO4kC&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380&dq=Film+Noir+Robert+Rodriguez+Sin+City&source=bl&ots=BNOqYx7Avz&sig=YuljeFHXN0KoeDEYKiav3JgCRr0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5qIPtx_zKAhVLWRQKHSCXCRgQ6AEIQzAG#v=onepage&q=Film%20Noir%20Robert%20Rodriguez%20Sin%20City&f=false
-http://noirwhale.com/2011/09/29/film-noir-sin-city-2005/
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