as a whole if I did this again I would probably do a weekly focus group to see what people like and don't like about what has been done, but also to see if they have similar responses, sharing data that could be helpful, making the data I already have more valid as it would come from a wider range of sources, id also change the way I did my survey making the data more quantitive for an easier analysis and id also make the questions more specific to my plans for the video.
by doing this it would make the data I get more valid and follow a trend I want to see in my data, making it useful to help towards a production people want. a pilot study in this case would be useful too, using it with my peers in class to help come up with a clear plan for what I'm going to do, and again to help produce something people want to see rather than what I want to produce.
using different techniques like theses would help get a better result.
The music video ‘The Pretender’ by Foo Fighters shows several features of Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory. The video opens with the singer and main guitarist walking into an empty hanger and picking up their instrument and wrapping their hand sharing connotations with a prep like a boxer does before a fight, Grohl too looks like he's preparing for a fight, as the theme suggests it fits in with this idea of political unrest, the hanger is all white except one red wall and appears as a stripped back stage for the band, this is to bring focus on the band but also on the emotion behind the lyrics and video, as he starts singing the rest of the band join him, as the drums kick off we get fast jump cuts and close up of the band with the footage cutting to the beat of the drums and stabs on guitars, showing this star iconography and amplification of the lyrics that Goodwin suggested are seen in music videos. As we see them playing the instruments and also singing along, promoting this amplification we also see that Dave Grohl is wearing his guitar low down on his body and is in a sort of power stance this is a demonstration of genre characteristics, guitarists like Robert Trujillo from Metallica are known for their wide stance and low hung guitar, its a common association with rock music to see the main vocalist and guitar player to be in that stance. For a good 30 seconds or so we get this content stream of cuts ands close ups of the band; this is heavily enforced by the record label. It creates a persona for the band and helps them create specific motives that set them apart from other bands in the same genre as them. Low angel shots of Grohl and his guitar at the beginning make him look tall and powerful signifying he is the most important member of the band as he is the one people always associate Foo Fighters with.
Although the video is composed of mainly performance a stable feature of most music videos in the genre, linking together lyrics and visuals forms aspects of a narrative. “I’m what’s right, I’m the enemy” is showing disobedience towards society seen about a minute in with the start of the riot squad walking in in a full suit whilst we get shot reverse shot and cuts between the band and the riot team. with the band wearing white and the riot squad wearing black we get this idea of binary opposition, with this in mind the riot squad is placed further away from the camera than Grohl is when looking towards them making the audience side with Grohl in this confrontation. we see towards the end of the video that a line has been crossed that was holding everything together has finally snapped and that he has given up being ignorant towards the police and has deiced to make a stand, illustrated and amplified by the lyrics ''never Surender'' and also seen by the fact that the police literally cross over a black line in the floor in slo motion as the music itself slows down,
Goodwin also states there is a relationship between the music and visuals. The very first sounds are the lights coming on after this the music starts. also towards the end of the video the red wall behind them explodes and showers the room in a red liquid. The red liquid could be seen to represent the sheer passion and anger behind the song, but also the climax of the video. Visual editing can be seen to match that of the tempo close ups of the instruments being played in sync with the music shows the audience that the band can play. This can also be applied to the lip-syncing which amplifies the lyrics.
the camera also darts about frantically throughout the video amplifying the fast paced nature of the genre and the music being played
In relation to Carol Vernallis however when describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative yet may not be complete sparring disjointed or disconnected much like the video above, where we have no idea the narrative behind the video yet there is something driving the story on.
in an interview Dave Grohl said himself the the video is massively open to interpretation and by looking what both analysts say cwe can see how it isn't clear on the meaning behind the video, but as Grohl himself said it was to make people aware of a political unrest at the time of writing.
PUNK ROCK 101 - BOWLING FOR SOUP
Following on using Andrew Goodwin’s Theory, the video opens with a shot of an airplane hanger, with the text punk rock boot camp, playing to the name if the song punk rock 101this is the only bit we can see what Goodwin said about the relationship between the music and lyrics as it doesn’t show much of what the singer is saying and instead throws a montage of different clips of a rock-like boot camp which doesn’t relate to the lyrics at all besides the Punk Rock 101 aspect of this song which is about teaching people how to be generically into the rock scene. cutting again we see a bus arrive and a close up of someone with spiked hair, already showing this punk rock look, that the band have and so many other bands of this genre had back in 2009 when the sing and video was released. we get content cuts following the fast paced beat of the song and genre, the video then cuts to a performance of the band, giving us closeups of the lead singer and the guitarists, as they are icons of the band, Goodwin referred to the star image a as a very vital aspect of a music video, they making the music video look more appealing to the audiences and bring a unique style to the video, they usually have the singer, if not the guitarist appearing in the spotlight for the majority of the performance and they are known for their guitarist to be an icon. we cut back to the narrative and see more of this boot camp, cutting back to the band and then back again, in the next bit they are all dressed in the same white top and pants, both men and women, alluding to the idea that we are all the same and that punk rock is universal. the video cuts between the narrative and performance in the fast paced style showing this video of thought through beat, when you listen to the song you can imagine, lots of cuts and fast paced camera action or character movement. the song and lyrics then slow down while the lead singer performs with a mosh pit behind him, showing this idea of intertextual references to the genre of punk rock and the bands in this genre such as Bon Jovi as he quotes the words ''like tommy and gina they're living on a prayer’. both people mentioned in the song Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi as well as the mise en scene showing very typical rock clothing and actions. This video also shows a clear genre characteristic of rock videos by having this very rebellious clothing and hold a similar stage-like performance to most rock bands generally out there but in a comedic way. The comedic mode of dress comes from the band itself as they are known to be funny and upbeat as are most bands in this genre that like to have fun with their videos and performances, one main one that comes to mind is blink 182's all the small things, the video is a mashup of different parody scenes. having fun and being up beat, as the genre dictates. there is a relationship between the music and visuals which is evident from the video due to the fact this video slows down and speeds up a lot with what we see on the screen is the same as what we are hearing and flows very well with pacing and transitions. seeing the band perform amplifys the lyrics and the sound, as we are getting content closeups seeing them lip-sync and play. The video doesn't really have much of a meaning like the lyrics, my interpretation is that its just a parody of bootcamps like in full metal jacket but its having fun and messing about teaching punk rock behaviours like reeling, instead of teaching people conformity.
This video also fits in with what Carol Vernallis was saying about camera movement and framing, she states that establishing shots are one of the key camera features of a music video and are used frequently throughout a music video as well as close up shots. The style of framing of the video again is quite distinctive to the video and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. Extreme shots also known as master shots are also very common, all seen throughout the video. as well that she also talks about editing saying that a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing, this is evident by the constant jump cuts and extreme changes in pace.
however unlike what she said about the video being a visual response to the narrative of the lyrics, they didn't do that, they did it with the name of the song instead.
ROCKSTAR - NICKLEBACK
the video opens with a boy lip-syncing the lyrics cutting to a man a woman and an older woman each time on the beat, agin cutting to more people like a police officer and a model, the video is a montage of clips of people lip-syncing, from famous people to the everyday person, while hearing the lyrics we all wanna be rockstars this narrative/performance style video tells the story of different people and how anybody can be anything if they put their minds to it. having everyone sing along shows this universal idea that the band is trying to get across, not only doing that its also both amplifys and illustrates the lyrics. there is no performance from the band at all yet by using some famous people like gene Simmons, chuck Liddell billy gibbons, kid rock and the crew form American chopper. It eludes to Goodwin's theory of star iconography instead of it being the band its famous people from film and tv that everyone knows, by using this montage of clips all cut to the beat and the lyrics it gives the video a more unique look which overall makes it more interesting than other videos. Furthermore there is a strong use of voyeurism as every character is looking straight into the camera, at the audience, making the audience feel more involved.
there isn't a lot of interpretation to this video, and there isn't much going on with the video however if you look at what Carol Vernallis says when describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative. Therefore whatever is happening onscreen reflects the choice of lyrics that the artist is singing and that although the video may have a theme or narrative, it is probably displayed in a montage style, rather than in one clear focus. she also goes on to talk about a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing. Meaning the video will have a style of editing running throughout that is distinctive to that video. The whole video with its use of this montage of clips is evidence of her theory more than what Goodwin suggests.
looking at the video itself there are moments where we get lustration of the lyrics within the Performance for instance with ''playboy mansion'' we get plaboy models, ''be great like Elvis'' it cuts to an Elvis impersonator, and even with the mention of rockstar we get a shot of Gene Simmons surrounded by a wall of records and awards, shot at a low angle showing his rock god status, the video makes use of the juxtaposition between having and wanting this life, and showing connotations of this life, with kids in a music studio, security guards, models and bikers. it uses Goodwin's idea of Voyerism too using models film stars and celebrities to make you watch the video and selling this aspiration life that the band has, but by not having the band in the video it helps sell this idea of a universal want for fame and the idea that you can be and have what you want in life.
looking back on the survey the results I got show a clear trend upon what people like to see with a music video, in hindsight with an idea in mind for a music video of my own I could have made the question more subject specific aiming the questions to produce a response towards the ideas of my video rather than the subject as a whole, however saying that the data that I have received was helpful in deciding what sort of video people respond to and what they like. to see. all in all the survey was helpful.
by using a mixture of qualttative and quantitative data it was easier to to get a general response for what people like and expect to see in a music video, making it easy to analyse yet with the quantitive data it would have been better to show it as a word cloud or something where similar responses were paid together instead of as a list. the sample size was large as I sent it out to multiple friends across different platforms yet only got 40 responses, I think limiting it to 20 would have been substantial.
using open ended questions helped to see what people wanted more clearly yet made it harder to analyse as I had multiple responses from 1 person, limiting it to 1 response would have again made it easier to analyse.
the target audience for the survey was my target audience for the video yet a few others liked other music as well, with made results different.
FOCUS GROUP
alongside the survey we also did a Focus group between our peers on the course, my original idea of doing a narrative video looking at relationships to Halestorm's I Miss The Misery wasn't the best idea of video if I was to do it I would have to have looked at contrasting themes etc and the group decided I should take an easier course and do something simple yet effective, that is when we came up with the idea for my current music video doing a pop punk song and having people acting like idiots.
all in all the focus group was really useful in helping come up with an idea that would work and wast too demanding of time or expenses.
The theorist Carol Vernallis is known for her theory based on music editing. Carol Vernallis theory is based around 4 key concepts that all relate to the way a music video is manufactured, these concepts are:
Narrative
Editing
Camera Movement and Framing
Diegesis
Narrative
Carol Vernallis when describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative. Therefore whatever is happening onscreen reflects the choice of lyrics that theartist is singing. However Vernallis then goes on to say how the narrative may not always be completed and can be partial with the video appearing disjointed, disconnected and appear in fragments. The video has something driving it forward but this may not necessarily be the narrative, it could be the music itself or other elements in the video. However if the video is left uncompleted it can lead to many questions about the narrative that wont always be answered throughout the video. Finally although the video may have a theme or narrative, it is probably displayed in a montage style, rather than in one clear focus.
Editing
Carol Vernallis states that a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing. Meaning the video will have a style of editing running throughout that is distinctive to that video. For example you may see:
Jump Cuts
Breaks of the 30’ Degree Rule
Cutting with the lyrics
Extreme changes in pace
Juxtaposed Frames
Graphic Matches
Camera Movements and Framing
Carol Vernallis states that establishing shots are one of the key camera features of a music video and are used frequently throughout a music video as well as close up shots. The style of framing of the video again is quite distinctive to the video and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. Extreme shots also known as master shots are also very common.
Diegesis
In terms of media the diegesis is the world of the music video. Carol Vernallis explains how the diegesis will be revealed quite slowly. The actions in the video wont always be completed and may be disrupted in someway. There will be many repetitions throughout the video and some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot/framed.
Andrew Goodwin’s Theory (In relation to music videos)
Godwin’s theory states that there are 5 key aspects to a music video.
Thought through beat (seeing what the lyrics mean in your head)
Relationship between the song and Visuals.
Narrative and performance of the song.
Technical aspect of a music video
Star Image (protagonist), lots of camera shots making him/her the centre of attention.
Thought through beat (seeing what they mean or represent in your head)
The first step of this process is to analyse the music structure understanding the chorus and verses. Then the second step (main voice of the song), the voice of the artist would be very unique compared to others and will give the person a form of identification that can be related to the star image or singer. The third step would be the story of an artist which he is trying to tell within his song. It can establish him as a story teller. And the music video can aid this by showing us the video through the vocals of the song.
There are three ways visuals are used to promote a song :
Illustrate. Music videos use certain images & shots to illustrate/explain the meaning of lyrics to their song and the genre.
Contradiction. In this situation , the meaning of the song is completely ignored in the music video.
Amplify. This is when the images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly through out the music video and is drummed into our vision. Relation between the music and visuals
Relation between the music and visuals
Goodwin believed that a music video can promote a song by though the way it analysis the lyrics. This is shown in many music videos when a character does exactly what the song says. Example is when the song lyrics are jump! Jump! Jump! And on the music video there are characters/actors actually jumping.
Narrative and performance of the song
Andrew Goodwin believed that it was important for an artist to be involved in the music video by performing or acting out a role as the main character or singer. It helps to make the song look more realistic and also giving the audience a special connecting and good understanding of the song. A good example of this is the song ROAR by Katy Perry She is the main actor in the song an also the singer and it helps the video by making the song and video look more realistic and this also help to engage the audience.
Star Image (protagonist)
lots of camera shots making him/her the centre of attention. Goodwin referred to the star image a as a very vital aspect of a music video, they making the music video look more appealing to the audiences and bring a unique style to the video in the way he is portrayed. The start image is always very unique in the way he presents himself, the costume, moves and appearance. This help to promote the artist/star’s image in public and also helps to promote the video and helps to build a public reputation.
Technical aspect of a music video
Andrew says that the technical aspect helps to hold the music video together through the use of Mise-en-Scene, Special effects sound and editing . Lightening and colour helps to set the mood for the music video and create emphasis on significant parts of the song to create a dramatic effect and thrill the audience. Mise-en-Scene is also very vital to the production of the music video, it can help the artist gain authentication and also make his work appear more professional. The beats of the song are also very useful as they can help to create effective cuts that go with the rhythm of the song to make the music video look more entertaining.
UNMASING THE GAZE: SOME THOUGHTS ON ONEW FEMINIST FILM THEORY AND HISTORY – LAURA MULVEY
If the image of female stars are constructed as "to be looked at", the women in the audience are necessarily drawn into a complicity with the film's own inscribed "gaze".
During the 1920s, a new femininity, mass production and mass entertainment emerged side by side, deeply imbricated with each other, with images of modernity and, in the words of pioneer advertiser, Eal'l1est Etmo Calkins, "beauty as a business tool".
This time Dorothy and Lorelei are tailored, quite blatantly, for a gaze that is presumed male and an audience in which women are presumed incidental.
tars such as Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell were not promoting domesticity, or, indeed, consumer durables. They represent the power and the glamour of America
VISUAL PLEASURE AND NARRATIVE CINEMA
The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia. There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure, just as, in the reverse formation, there is pleasure in being looked at.
The cinema satisfies a primordial wish for pleasurable looking, but it also goes further, developing scopophilia in its narcissistic aspect. The conventions of mainstream film focus attention on the human form.
Jacques Lacan has described how the moment when a child recognises its own image in the mirror is crucial for the constitution of the ego. Several aspects of this analysis are relevant here.
one implies a separation of the erotic identity of the subject from the object on the screen (active scopophilia), the other demands identification of the ego with the object on the screen
pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female.
As Budd Boetticher has put it:
'What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance.'
raditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium,
in psychoanalytic terms, the female figure poses a deeper problem. She also connotes something that the look continually circles around but disavows: her lack of a penis, implying a threat of castration and hence unpleasure
he male unconscious has two avenues of escape from this castration anxiety preoccupation with the re-enactment of the original trauma (investigating the woman, demystifying her mystery) counterbalanced by the devaluation, punishment or saving of the guilty object (an avenue typified by the concerns of the film noir); or else complete disavowal of castration by the substitution of a fetish object or turning the represented figure itself into a fetish so that it becomes reassuring rather than dangerous (hence over-valuation, the cult of the female star)
THE MALE GAZE IN 2018 – MELISSA STRONG
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” first acknowledges that movies make the camera invisible, almost unnoticeable, to create the illusion of verisimilitude.
today it is worth noting that the camera’s male gaze also is cisgender, heterosexual, and representative of conventional expectations of masculinity. Whatever for, you may ask? Well, as Mulvey points out, movies are a product of a patriarchal culture, so naturally they tend to reflect patriarchy.
WHAT IS THE MALE GAZE AND DOES FEMALE GAZE EXIIST - ANDY SIMMONS
Filmmakers often attempt to avoid presenting female characters as “mere” sexual objects by giving them complex back stories, strong motivations and an active role in the plot of their story. Yet the masculine gaze is still commonplace. Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) has significant personal motivations, yet she is still clearly there to be looked at.
Although written 40 years ago, Mulvey’s essay still provokes strong reactions. One common response is that both women and men are objectified in cinema.
Another argument is that cinema doesn’t invite women to desire men’s bodies. Rather, female viewers are positioned to identify with a heroine who is herself desired by a man. According to this logic, it is not Fitzwilliam Darcy’s wet undershirt that inflames the female viewer in Pride and Prejudice. Rather, it is Darcy’s longing for Elizabeth that truly appeals
So is there a female gaze? Certainly, beautiful men abound in cinema. But I’d argue that there is no direct female equivalent of the male gaze. The male gaze creates a power imbalance. It supports a patriarchal status quo, perpetuating women’s real-life sexual objectification.
Films like The Piano, In The Cut or Marie Antoinette show that cinema can use music, erotic scenes and visual aesthetics to express a feminine point of view. In doing so, such films counter the gaze, depicting women as subjects rather than objects “to be looked at”. Whilst not replicating the male gaze exactly, they challenge the enduring dominance of masculine worldviews in film and media.
“by orchestrating the ‘three looks’ of spectator, camera, and character, the cinematic appartatus naturalized a masculine gaze in the service of patriarchal ideology” (Maltby and Craven, The Hollywood Cinema, p. 398
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego. This theory, known as Freud’s structural theory of personality, places great emphasis on the role of unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping behavior and personality. Dynamic interactions among these fundamental parts of the mind are thought to progress through five distinct psychosexual stages of development. Over the last century, however, Freud’s ideas have since been met with criticism, in part because of his singular focus on sexuality as the main driver of human personality development.
Freud’s Structure of the Human Mind
According to Freud, our personality develops from the interactions among what he proposed as the three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. Conflicts among these three structures, and our efforts to find balance among what each of them “desires,” determines how we behave and approach the world. What balance we strike in any given situation determines how we will resolve the conflict between two overarching behavioral tendencies: our biological aggressive and pleasure-seeking drives vs. our socialized internal control over those drives.
The Id
The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification of basic physical needs and urges. It operates entirely unconsciously (outside of conscious thought). For example, if your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would most likely take the ice cream for itself. It doesn’t know, or care, that it is rude to take something belonging to someone else; it would care only that you wanted the ice cream.
The Superego
The superego is concerned with social rules and morals—similar to what many people call their ” conscience ” or their “moral compass.” It develops as a child learns what their culture considers right and wrong. If your superego walked past the same stranger, it would not take their ice cream because it would know that that would be rude. However, if both your id and your superego were involved, and your id was strong enough to override your superego’s concern, you would still take the ice cream, but afterward you would most likely feel guilt and shame over your actions.
The Ego
In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It’s what Freud considered to be the “self,” and its job is to balance the demands of the id and superego in the practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego would mediate the conflict between your id (“I want that ice cream right now”) and superego (“It’s wrong to take someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to go buy your own ice cream. While this may mean you have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate your id, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice cream while also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and potential feelings of shame.
Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult personality and behavior are rooted in the results of these internal struggles throughout childhood. He believed that a person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality and that imbalances in this system can lead to neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety and depression) and unhealthy behaviors.
Bibliography:
Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality- available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/psychodynamic-perspectives-on-personality/ (accessed 21st November 2019)
‘’American new wave films ignored taboos and appealed to the youth, addressing sex and violence with now iconic moments in cinema history.’’ (Saporito, 2016) This new brand of filmmaking was bewitching audiences and generations of eventual filmmakers. These films were centred on complex themes with morally ambiguous messages, reflecting the nonconforming generation disillusioned by Vietnam and the Vietnam war, which changed American film into a means of looking critically at the country's history and future.
In his book, Hollywood Incoherent: Narration in Seventies Cinema, Film studies professor and author Todd Berliner syas that five principles govern the narrative of the New Hollywood movement: · ‘’A tendency to integrate, story and stylistic devices; · Situate their film-making practices in between those of classical Hollywood and European and Asian art cinema; · prompt spectator responses more uncertain and discomforting than Hollywood cinema; · irresolution, when Hollywood movies tie up loose ends; · hinders narrative linearity and momentum to generate suspense and excitement.’’ (Berliner, 2010)
New Hollywood’s run through the 1970s changed cinema forever. Filmmakers continue to be inspired by and draw from the works of the New Hollywood auteurs, such as Scorsese and Coppola. Looking at what Author Todd Berliner said about the five main principals of American new wave film it is easy to see how they are applied to both the mainstream cinematic films, like The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) and Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967), and smaller more independent films, Like Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969). In regards to The Godfather (Coppola 1972) it seems like a crime picture or a gangster movie but contains some of the coming of age elements evident in the new wave movement. But it diverts towards the rise of mainstream Hollywood cinema with its high budget and cinematic shots. It focuses on the truth of what is going on at the time with the crime and violence with the mafia. Making people see a different reality rather than that of the Vietnam war. One scene in particular, when we hear about the meeting arranged and follow the plan to conceal a gun in the lavatory of the small, neighbourhood Italian restaurant chosen for the rendezvous. Within that there's the night-time car ride where Michael is frisked and approved during which we see the typical shadows and lowkey lighting effects like chiaroscuro associated with Film noir and new holly wood films as well as the long takes of the dialogue between the characters in the car. The film noir element isn’t a key feature of American new wave however is a feature of the French new wave which gave rise to New Hollywood. As Berliner said ‘’seventies films Situate their film-making practices in between those of classical Hollywood and European and Asian art cinema’’ (Berliner, 2010), taking some elements of French new wave with the film noir style and the tendency towards extreme violence from Asian art cinema. In the restaurant itself, there's Italian talk at the table, with subtitles, and Michael asks to be allowed to go to the bathroom, proving Berliners point of ‘’Seventies films showing a tendency to integrate story and stylistic devices.’’(Berliner,2010) in the background the noise of the rise and fall of a subway train passing is heard in between the dialogue. The train is used an artistic device, a heightening effect. With New wave films dialogue drowned out by noises was used as a sense of verisimilitude to show audiences that they are watching a film that has a sense of reality written within, that and most shots were only filmed once due to a lower budget, The Godfather may have had a larger budget but shots were still usually done in one to save time, in this case the train noise wasn’t drowning out dialogue but added background noise changing the mood of the scene.
Michael comes out with a gun and leaves the two men for dead. Coppola deliberately does not use the more popular approach of sadistic punishment, rejecting the Hitchcockian way of violence and the conventions of classic American cinema noted by Mulvey, she suggested, ‘’ this domination has caused a clear masculine bias in how films are shot and presented to viewers who, sometimes unknowingly, consume examples of harmful masculinity.’’ (Mulvey, 1999)
But something else has happened – Michael, the good boy in the family has crossed over. He has come of age, coming of age films were a large part of 1960's/1970s cinema in Hollywood giving the audience something to connect to. The Godfather suddenly reveals itself as not just a gangster chronicle, but the progress of Michael towards evil. What makes The Godfather new wave is the focus on the true-to-life gloom of Italian American life. The old distinction between good guys and bad guys will not pass in an America suddenly aware of its own corruption and compromise.
On that same note of good, bad and America becoming aware of own corruption we have Easy rider (Hopper 1969), Easy Rider is a record of a certain time in American history, and a chronicle of a culture clash that never quite ended. It’s a freewheeling take on freedom—what it means and what it costs. The word freedom also describes the mind-set that created Easy Rider. The film was shot totally outside of studio channels, for around $350,000, and was cowritten by Hopper, Fonda, and Terry Southern all representing facets of the counterculture. They were united by their embrace of a bohemian lifestyle and their dissatisfaction with post war America. Billy and Wyatt cross the United States in two senses of the word: literally as a road trip across America, and in giving offense. They disrupt, oppose, betray. Like so many of the fringe characters the duo meets on their journey, they don’t have regular jobs, families, or homes. They live from one drug deal to the next, go where they please, and stick around until they feel like moving on again. Showing the other sense of the phrase. Billy’s and Wyatt’s appearances challenge prevailing notions of manhood (the bikers are routinely harassed for their long hair and eccentric clothes and mocked as girls or queers).
‘’Hopper treated Easy Rider as a laboratory in which to test his theories of what constituted truly adventurous writing, directing, and acting. And he drove himself and his castmates to give intuitive, risky, confessional performances.’’ (Seitz, 2010)
Hopper’s background as a photographer and art director informed the movie’s loose, inventive visuals. He encouraged his cinematographer to shoot most of the film’s exteriors with natural light. Most daringly, Hopper denied conventions of classical cinema and used long takes of the of the guys riding their bikes for the majority of the film. Easy Rider also transcends its cultural moment, because it’s about more than bikers and hippies or the tension between libertines and reactionaries. It’s about the difficulty of escaping social conditioning and economic imperatives and sustaining a truly free life which is why drugs are shown prominently throughout the film as society in the 60’s/70’s used drugs as a way to escape what was going on. In the oft-cited campfire scene near the end, Wyatt tells Billy, “We blew it.” That line has been taken as an indictment of the American counterculture, but the line is also seen as more of a personal sort of confession, an admission that they have ultimately succumbed and bought into their own.
In a particular moment of the film Wyatt and Billy are sitting in a graveyard with two girls, drinking, smoking and taking acid, a drug common in the 60's, from what is seen in these two minutes they are having a bad trip. further reading of the film as a whole shows that after this bad trip in the graveyard the two lads go on a journey of spiritual truth, the start of which can be seen and directly related to the underlying religious setting of a graveyard but also the use of a non-diegetic but then diegetic voice over from a girl reading either from a bible or one of the lords prayers. At the start of the clip we get a mid-shot low down looking at the four sat in front of a tombstone on of the lads is dressed as a native American, again foreshadowing the spiritual trip they will take later in the film. The lack of dialogue between the group doesn't help to show anything that is going on other than the words ''just shut up and take it'' the only speech here that conveys anything is the voice over that comes in, throughout the scene there is a loud non-diegetic sound that seems like drums banging or something loud and ominous probably foreshadowing the nature of the trip they are about to take from the actual drugs themselves, ironically before they take a trip across America to find spiritual truth. The shot then jumps between a shot of them and a pan upwards of the tomb as well as a lens flare across the screen possibly showing this idea of spirituality as god is the light, this is also seen with the a shot of the sun then going to a white out to the jump back to their bad trip. However, reviewing what Berliner said, the scene is confusing and does what he says American New Wave films do. “prompt spectator responses more uncertain and discomforting than Hollywood cinema’’. (Berliner 2010)
Bonnie and Clyde (Penn 1967) not only defies the conventions of classical cinema and the traditional gangster films of the 30’s onwards, where film noir was very popular, by doing things differently, not only defying the conventions of cinema but also the views of society, issues of Gender, extreme violence, social hierarchy and Race were all explored. Pfeiffer said the film “pioneered a new era of filmmaking, tearing down barriers in the depiction of violence and sexuality”. (Pfeiffer, 2018). The film defys the norm of gender roles by giving Bonnie Power, as in society and in traditional Gangster cinema men were the ones with the power. But the main thing Bonnie and Clyde stood for just like Easy Rider was Freedom but also the cost of freedom.
“Love is never free. Neither Penn would lead us to believe, is freedom” …” Penn is not creating gangsters that go against the social order – he uses them to make the audience uncomfortable with that order”’ … “Penn allows Bonnie and Clyde to generate themselves as figures of freedom”. (Kolker, 2000)
Take the final scene, where the film descends into a violent and disturbing conclusion. While it had seemed that they might be able to outrun the police forever, the group finds that this is not the case after they are apprehended at the cabin they are staying in. Because the Barrow gang has caused so much chaos in the region, the cops are intent on killing them as soon as they find them. The violent consequences of the gang's actions lead to horrifying images of violence. Penn does not spare the viewer from the sight of blood or any of the grisly violent details. The fact that they are hunted down and apprehended after their escape shows this lack of freedom and the ideal that both Easy rider and Bonnie and Clyde both have that freedom has a price and we are never truly free from society or the world events. Linking back to the Extreme violence and Defiance of classical conventions, the final scene heightens the violence with the build up towards it, using long takes, shot reverse shot and a lack of non-diegetic background music. These techniques both heightened the focus on the violence but also made the audience uncomfortable generating a response that was not like that of classical cinema. Again, agreeing with what Berliner said about the narrative of new wave.“prompt spectator responses more uncertain and discomforting than Hollywood cinema”. Overall, it appears that the common trend throughout the multitude of films is the portrayal of Freedom and changing times. “..rose to prominence in the late 60s, bringing a new set of values representative of the counter-culture and an aesthetic influenced by the French New Wave’’ (Hitchman, 2013). Which with the Vietnam war going on people needed a form of escape from reality. The vast array of films brought to light the significance of freedom, coming of age, good vs evil and the decay of an old world and society and has been renowned as being the start of what we know as Mainstream Hollywood cinema.
Works Cited
Berliner, T. (2010). Hollywood Incoherent: Narration in Seventies Cinema. Austin: university of texas press.
Coppola, F. F. (Director). (1972). The Godfather [Motion Picture].
Hitchman, S. (2013). A History of American New Wave. Retrieved from New Wave Film: http://www.newwavefilm.com/international/american-new-wave-1.shtml
Hopper, D. (Director). (1969). Easy Rider [Motion Picture].
Kolker, R. (2000). A Cinema of Loneliness. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mulvey, L. (1999). “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. New York: Oxford University Press.
Penn, A. (Director). (1967). Bonnie and Clyde [Motion Picture].
Pfeiffer, L. (2018, March 15). Bonnie and Clyde. Retrieved from ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bonnie-and-Clyde-film-by-Penn
Saporito, J. (2016, july 14). Q: The Filmmaker’s Handbook: What was the New Hollywood movement? Retrieved from The Take: http://screenprism.com/insights/article/the-filmmakers-handbook-what-is-the-new-hollywood-movement
Seitz, M. Z. (2010, November 24). Easy Rider: Wild at Heart. Retrieved from The Criterion Colection : https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1667-easy-rider-wild-at-heart
Professional film crews take health and safety issues very seriously. The line of responsibility runs from the Producer to the Production Manager and 1st Assistant Director and finally on to all crew members who have a duty of care which is recognised by law. If someone can see the potential for an accident and does nothing to try to prevent it, they can be held responsible in some way, probably along with their senior colleagues.
When filming, people have many things on their minds, things can get rushed, and risks can increase. Even simple things can become dangerous because this is not an ordinary situation. Of course, all of life presents hazards, but if someone is asked to run down a hill repeatedly to get the scene right, for example, the risk of them tripping and falling on their face is increased with each time they do this. If the hill is pavement rather than grass the risk of serious injury is increased.
Risk assessment
The way to stay safe is to look at each shooting set up or location individually and think of what exactly could go wrong. This is called a risk assessment.
It's a three step process
Identify all the hazards
Evaluate the risks
Identify measures to control the risks
Then put in place safeguards to eliminate or minimise risk. You should make a record of any risk assessment to ensure the students are clear on how to stay safe. This can save time during your shoot. Rules about listening to each other, respecting a chain of command, looking after equipment properly, and not rushing, will all help to keep people safe and happy.
'Hazard' refers to the potential for harm. while 'Risk' is the chance of that harm actually happening. Though some hazards might seem very obvious, people might still need to have them pointed out.
Weather
Extremes of weather are one commonly overlooked hazard. If you are filming outside all day, it is essential to make sure the crew are dressed appropriately. A lot of the time you may be standing around and people will get cold very quickly even in what seems quite mild weather. Layers of clothes are best, and get everyone to bring a waterproof and a woolly hat - they keep out wind as well as rain and are invaluable.
Sunburn and heatstroke are other outdoor hazards. Always have high protection sunscreen on hand and make the students put it on. Try to get students to wear some kind of sun hat or stay in the shade when possible and make sure lots of water is available to drink. The other reason for sunscreen is to stop the actors' appearance changing drastically and messing up the continuity of the film!
Time pressure
Rushing to finish in time is when hazards get missed, or people start taking risks. If this starts to happen, take a moment to calm everyone down and remind them: this is only a film. If you feel really pressured try to think of how to lighten the work-load: can you cut out some shots or set ups to give you the time to get the most essential stuff for the film without a panic? Or can you come back tomorrow to finish?
Other common hazards
Tripping hazards
Move or gaffa tape down cables and objects that could be tripped over.
Lifting hazards
Go carefully when moving or lifting heavy or dangerous things, ask someone to help you.
Camera risks
When a camera operator or cast member is walking during a shot, make sure they are comfortable with their route and there is nothing that could cause problems (a camera operator who needs to walk backwards for a shot should have an assistant to guide them and/or check their route).
Water
Shots that involve water.
Precarious
Shots from high up or near the edge of something.
Shots that look illegal
Shots might look illegal if you didn't know a camera was there. This could cause distress to members of the public &/or cause a police call out.
Bibliography -
Moving image education, Health and Safety. Available at: https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/production/the-production-department/health-and-safety (accessed 31st October 2019)
Images -
Safety first - available at: https://www.direct365.co.uk/blog/health-and-safety-signs/ (accessed 31st October 2019)
Time - Available at: https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/how-the-world-became-obsessed-with-time-and-efficiency (accessed 31st October 2019)
Weather - available at: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/long-range-weather-forecast-uk (accessed 31st October 2019)
I am tasked with investigating a New Wave of my choice from a recognised era, critically assessing the key factors surrounding a range of films and assessing the impact of their reception, alongside that I am tasked with creating a short film that is around 2 minuets long, demonstrating the techniques of the new wave I have been assessing, I have chosen American New Wave as my area of study for this assignment.
Planning -
Car scene,
Pub scene. all of theses because of ease of accesses the weekend I will be filming will be at
Skating. the last 2 locations and a friend has agreed to use his car.
Long shots and jump cuts prominent in filming, due to the use of them in new wave film.
Lack of script due to the objection of the conventions of classical cinema
Techniques of new wave
focus on crime and drugs
real conversations non scripted
jump cuts
punchy dialogue
mistakes
long takes
inspiration - the godfather and pulp fiction
In particular the car scenes
Narrative
my narrative changed over time, originally I was going to do a short clip about 2 guys buying drugs from a crime lord, however now realising the complications of such, with a limited time to film, I changed my idea to a simple 2 minute video of my weekend, done In the style of American New Wave Film.
Test Footage -
This is some of the test footage I took, using a tripod and camera and adapting the iso settings to get some footage that looks natural, the dialogue in the videos is non scripted and is natural conversation between the subjects of the film, the shots are a mix of mid and long shots focusing on a subject, and they are all long takes, in editing I will add them together including jump cuts and non diegetic sound in some places to add to the stylism of American New Wave.
Bibliography:
Pulp Fiction scene. Available at: https://youtu.be/LBBni_-tMNs (accessed 7 NOVEMBER 2019)
Easy Rider is a record of a certain time in American history, and a chronicle of a culture clash that never quite ended. But it’s no mere historical document or cinematic curiosity. It’s a freewheeling take on freedom—what it means and what it costs.
Billy and Wyatt—who goes by the nickname Captain America, and has the star-spangled accessories to earn it—cross the United States in two senses of the word: in traveling from Mexico to Los Angeles, through the Southwest, and on to New Orleans, and in giving offense. They disrupt, oppose, betray. Like so many of the fringe characters the duo meet on their journey, Billy and Wyatt don’t have regular jobs, families, or homes. They live from one drug deal to the next, go where they please, and stick around until they feel like moving on again. This isn’t a philosophical statement on their part; it’s just how they happen to live—and Billy’s initial puzzlement at George’s analysis suggests that he’s never thought of himself as a symbol of anything. But the representatives of America’s dominant culture—the go-along-to-get-along proletariat that then president Richard M. Nixon would describe as the Silent Majority—have been thinking in those terms, and as far as they’re concerned, these moon-child freaks are walking provocations. Billy’s and Wyatt’s appearances challenge prevailing notions of manhood (the bikers are routinely harassed for their long hair and eccentric clothes, and mocked as girls or queers). The born-wild bikers’ nomadic existence proves it’s possible to survive without becoming tranquilized zoo animals.The word freedom also describes the mind-set that created Easy Rider. The film was shot totally outside of studio channels, for around $350,000, and was cowritten by Hopper, Fonda, and novelist and screenwriter Terry Southern (Dr. Strangelove, Candy), all representing facets of the counterculture—a multigenerational catchall term that covered so-called Beats, or beatniks, in the fifties and early sixties and hippies in the late sixties and early seventies. They were united by their embrace of a bohemian lifestyle and their dissatisfaction with postwar America. Fonda came up with the germ of an idea for a modern western keyed to that sensibility and brought in Hopper and Southern as collaborators. Southern, who had been traveling in hipster artist circles since the late 1940s (his friends amounted to a who’s who of midcentury arts and letters—Nelson Algren, Kenneth Tynan, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Henry Green), was the most aesthetically grounded of the trio, and he took the first pass at the script in 1967. (And despite later revisions and on-set improvisations—and Hopper’s attempts to diminish his role—Southern’s influence on the final film can be strongly felt. Visual flights of fancy notwithstanding, Easy Rider is a spare, poetic work, marked by a mix of spiky humor and tenderness that’s characteristic of Southern.) Hopper treated Easy Rider as a laboratory in which to test his theories of what constituted truly adventurous writing, directing, and acting. And he drove himself and his castmates to give intuitive, risky, confessional performances. (For the New Orleans sequence with Karen Black and Toni Basil, Hopper persuaded Fonda to talk to a statue of a woman in a cemetery as if it were his mother. “Oh God, how l loved you,” Wyatt sobs.) Hopper’s background as a photographer and art director informed the movie’s loose, inventive visuals. He encouraged his cinematographer, László Kovács—a survivor of the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, who adored the American landscape—to shoot most of the film’s exteriors with natural light. (Kovács’s highly expressive on-the-fly photography is a tour de force in the possibilities of the zoom lens, and an incalculable number of subsequent movies have tried to ape Easy Rider’s visuals.) Most daringly, Hopper eschewed straightforward plotting and instead devoted long stretches of the film’s running time to footage of the guys riding their bikes, while cities and towns and mountains and trees roll past them in a continuous geographic slipstream. He told his crew that he wanted the film to be a mind-blowing visceral experience, like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which came out a few weeks before Easy Rider began production. Easy Rider also transcends its cultural moment, because it’s about more than bikers and hippies or the tension between libertines and reactionaries. It’s about the difficulty of escaping social conditioning and economic imperatives and sustaining a truly free life. In the oft-cited campfire scene near the end, Wyatt tells Billy, “We blew it.” That line has been taken as an indictment of the American counterculture, which, like so many protean revolutionary movements, started self-destructing once it gained enough power and prominence to effect real change. One can read it that way. But the line strikes me also as a more personal sort of confession, an admission that they have ultimately succumbed and bought into their own outlaw version of the capitalist rat race—the idea that a man is not a true success unless he has accumulated enough money to stop working and take it easy.
Bonnie and Clyde – The French New Wave in Hollywood
Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967) was the start of the Hollywood Renaissance Movement – one that is filled with previously taboo topics that cinema tried to stay away from. The initial release was lukewarm and it was only though Pauline Kael’s lengthy essay, that praised the film, allowed the film a second chance. The graphic violence and sexual nature of Bonnie and Clyde’s relationship excited the American public, who thought of the real duo as noble populists. Penn did not shy away from the gritty and dirty lives of the criminals and that cemented Bonnie and Clyde within global iconic film status. The film reused techniques of the French New Wave, to draw the younger generation of moviegoers back to the cinema.
The film is based on the real-life Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, criminals in American West during the Great Depression. The film scandalised the conservatives, starting with a nude scene of Faye Dunaway who plays the titular character of Bonnie and ending with the graphic rampage of their death. The film showed blood and gore explicitly and the audiences enjoyed each violent scene. However, despite such strides in portraying the lives of violent criminals realistically, the film uses the subtleties of the French New Wave liberally and the connection between the two movements are palpable.
Warren Beatty who plays Clyde, also acted as the producer of the film, and had originally approached French New Wave directors to make the film. So, the influence of the French New Wave had begun at the very conception of the show and would go on to influence Penn’s version of the pseudo-autobiography. The tone of Bonnie and Clyde utilised French New Wave techniques of characterisation of the protagonists, fast cuts, and spontaneous music to shift tone abruptly.
Bonnie and Clyde echoed one of the most well-known French New Wave movies, Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960). We see similarities in the protagonist Michel and Clyde, anti-heroes who were arrogant, rebellious and believed themselves to be above the law. Both characters have a hyper masculine and sexual façade, Clyde putting on the mask of a Western outlaw and Michel as the classic Hollywood gangster. Their downfall is the very thing that makes them so attractive, their brutality and confidence that serves to attract characters and audiences alike. The audience grows to root for these morally repugnant characters even though they know that these crimes cannot go unpunished and their eventual deaths are not celebrated by the audience.
The camera techniques in Bonnie and Clyde are also distinctively like the New Wave movement. A scene that shows this perfectly is the ending scene where Bonnie and Clyde are viciously gunned down. The abrupt change in tone occurs when Mr Moss suddenly ducks for cover, the characters go from carefree with long takes to an abrupt burst of short and fast cuts. The change of tone is particularly jarring as within that few minutes of the scene the audience go from feeling carefree to free. The film does not even allow the audience to process their emotions as the characters are shot at in a long slow motion that seems almost beautiful in its choreography. The loud gunshots start of jarring but becomes almost like background music as the characters fall in slow motion with blood spewing out from wounds. Their deaths becomes a performance despite the horrific, almost cruel, killing.
Lastly, Bonnie and Clyde uses banjo music to convey a change in tone in the film. In scenes where the characters are robbing banks, the sombre and serious tone of the robbery itself is quickly switched to a fun and spritely one through the sudden quick strum of banjo music during the duo’s getaway. The song, Earl Sruggs’ “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” becomes emblematic and undercuts the seriousness of the show. It is comedic in nature and such a song paired with car chases immediately after a stick up allowed Penn to shift the film’s tone precipitously.
Hence, Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde is hallmarked for triggering a whole new set of Hollywood films that were unabashedly violent and sexual. It opened the cinema up for the wider audience and revived a dying industry by bringing New Wave techniques directly into the Hollywood studios.
Bibliography:
Narelle (2017), Bonnie and Clyde – The French New Wave in Hollywood.
Available at : https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/narelle001/bonnie-and-clyde-the-french-new-wave-in-hollywood/ (accessed 13th November 2019)
Images in order
1 - found at: http://crimefeed.com/2017/01/serial-killer-cinema-10-movies-based-bonnie-clyde/ (accessed: 13th November 2019)
2 - found at: https://journeysindarknessandlight.wordpress.com/2015/06/28/growing-up-with-movies-introduction-and-episode-1-bonnie-and-clyde-1967/ (Accessed 13th November 2019)
3 - found at: https://www.express.co.uk/pictures/pics/4230/Faye-Dunaway-60s-American-actress-pictures/Faye-Dunaway-and-Warren-Beatty-star-together-in-the-1967-film-Bonnie-and-Clyde-95600 (accessed 13th November 2019)
4 - found at: http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2017/8/16/bonnie-clydes-50th-anniversary.html (accessed 13th November 2019)
Freud’s Structure of the Human Mind
Health and Safety
Extremes of weather are one commonly overlooked hazard. If you are filming outside all day, it is essential to make sure the crew are dressed appropriately. A lot of the time you may be standing around and people will get cold very quickly even in what seems quite mild weather. Layers of clothes are best, and get everyone to bring a waterproof and a woolly hat - they keep out wind as well as rain and are invaluable.
Sunburn and heatstroke are other outdoor hazards. Always have high protection sunscreen on hand and make the students put it on. Try to get students to wear some kind of sun hat or stay in the shade when possible and make sure lots of water is available to drink. The other reason for sunscreen is to stop the actors' appearance changing drastically and messing up the continuity of the film!
Rushing to finish in time is when hazards get missed, or people start taking risks. If this starts to happen, take a moment to calm everyone down and remind them: this is only a film. If you feel really pressured try to think of how to lighten the work-load: can you cut out some shots or set ups to give you the time to get the most essential stuff for the film without a panic? Or can you come back tomorrow to finish?
Extremes of weather are one commonly overlooked hazard. If you are filming outside all day, it is essential to make sure the crew are dressed appropriately. A lot of the time you may be standing around and people will get cold very quickly even in what seems quite mild weather. Layers of clothes are best, and get everyone to bring a waterproof and a woolly hat - they keep out wind as well as rain and are invaluable.
Rushing to finish in time is when hazards get missed, or people start taking risks. If this starts to happen, take a moment to calm everyone down and remind them: this is only a film. If you feel really pressured try to think of how to lighten the work-load: can you cut out some shots or set ups to give you the time to get the most essential stuff for the film without a panic? Or can you come back tomorrow to finish?
