1) Krzysztof Kieslowski: Three Colours Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu)
This extract, which is merely the opening to first part of a monumental trilogy, Three Colors: Blue, begins with a tracking shot. The shot used here is a close-up that is following a tire attached to a car driving down the freeway. This opening shot also uses the diegetic, synchronous sounds of the wind, and other cars driving past. The particular use of this sound contributes vastly to the realism of film immediately and also helps to create a tense, perplexing atmosphere. This on its own this helps to engage the audience in a moment of suspense but the use of narrative is equally as significant as we can see the entire opening is densely filled with enigma codes. The audience are unaware of where the car is going, who it belongs to, the destination of the car or what circumstances caused the journey. The use of enigma codes, proposed by Ronald Barthes, supply the audience with unanswered questions. These entice the audience and therefore make them continue watching to eventually receive the relief of satisfaction. The next shot is a medium close up of an arm waving a piece of tin foil out of the car window. Here, the wind is still present but we are given the additional diegetic and synchronous sound of tin foil hitting the surface of the car. This suggests build up of pace. The foil flies out of the person’s hand into the wind. Perhaps this is symbolic of later downfall in the film because something someone obtains is being taken by stronger forces. This is relevant as the film’s most prominent theme is about freedom being impossible ever to obtain. The next shot is incongruous with the previous scenes, most prominently in terms of lighting. This perhaps is demonstrating the difference between a child’s perspective and and adult’s. We are given a medium, tracking shot of a young girl looking out of the rear window of the car. Here, the use of lighting is especially striking as we can see flares of red, orange, yellow and green which differs to the previous and latter scenes. The young girl appears to be mesmerised by the flares of light. This is emphasised through the next shot which is a point of view shot of the hazy lights from the young girl’s perspective. This helps us identify with the girl whilst further reinforcing enigma codes of her situation. The camera movement is intentional here as it is shaky which helps incite danger as there is a lot of movement and we are moving in the opposite direction of the lights, until we fade into darkness which is again suggestive of downfall. The next returns to the blue toned lighting in which we see the family intervening from their journey in the car. The next shot is a close up on a leaking pipe attached to the car. The shot creates an impression of an eerie and ominous atmosphere. We can see the young girl advancing towards the car in the unfocused background of the leaking pipe. Perhaps this was deliberately directed to further amplify her significance later in the film. The use of these characters who appear fairly oblivious to what the audience can see or feel, suggest they are the protagonists according to Propp’s theory about characters and actions as narrative function. In addition, we hear the first instance of dialogue here where the young girl says something briefly in French. This instantly establishes the 'world cinema' aspect of the film.
The family return to driving on the freeway. The audience transition to a young boy sitting on the grass playing a game. We are given a close-up of the well known game in France, bilboquet. The principle of game includes catching one object with another, where both are joined by a string. This again alludes to the theme of the film: freedom. Its message is that we are alive, but not free, demonstrated perfectly by the game of bilboquet. We are directed to an establishing shot of the car driving through the mist, where the boy playing his game watches the car. The boy’s curiosity signifies that it is unlikely or rare that cars drive in this particular area. This instantly suggests an action code because the audience are aware that something will happen. Next we can see the boy finally winning the game and attaching the ball into the cup, seconds after, skidding noises can be heard and we see the car striking into a tree. and some coming out of it. This is especially striking because it connotes that once we feel our freedom being stripped of us, we realise our fate. This is well portrayed by the car accident. As wells this, we know realise the close up of the leaking pipe foreshadowed the future revelation of the accident. We can see the young boy pick up his skateboard and run towards the car. Here, there is the use of a long establishing shot. As the boy advances further, the shot blurs slightly and gradually fades to black. In this extract, the boy would be classified as the helper, according to Propp’s theory as he aids ‘the heroes’. This clip was predominantly filmed in blue process. Numerous scenes are shot with blue lighting, and many objects are blue. The use of the blue tint and desaturated tone help illuminate the story as well as suggest depth. Blue holds connotations of complex and contradictory meanings. As the film uses a significant amount of blue, it was likely used to create feelings of melancholy, and grief. This alludes to the themes of the film as well as that blue often is said to link to freedom, which in this case is an ironic use of the colour in the film.
This film is categorised as an arthouse film as well as being classed under the genre of foreign and drama. This would most likely appeal to the ABC1 demographic as it is an arthouse film and brings light themes of French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, fraternity and equality. It is rated 15 under the BBFC classification. This classification from the website states “the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.” The demographic of this film would include 15-45 year olds. The split would likely be 60% to 40% male. I feel that females would be more likely to watch this particular type of film because the film focuses on a female who suffers the loss of her husband, which is a problem females are more likely to empathise or identify with rather than males. This, according to Young and Rubicam is aimed at reformers and explorers as a psycho-graphic audience. This is because Art house is a genre that only those who want to be intellectually enlightened want to watch.
2) Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This film is about an estranged couple who erase each other from their memories. This clip in an ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ is notorious for it’s well written lines and impressive yet subtle editing. To begin, this extract starts begins with a woman, we assume to be the protagonist, using some technology to assist her with sorting out books. This first shot is a medium shot maybe in an attempt to establish her substance in the film. The camera tilts up slightly and pans to a male character who has advanced to her side. The male character can be seen wearing a dark trench coat yet he holds certain mannerisms that suggest timidness in his being. This contrast causes a sense of uncertainty in the audience. On the other hand, we can see the female wearing red; red is often a symbol of promiscuity or sexual desire. This links to Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. She proposed that often woman are presented as objects of male pleasure. Mulvey connects the male gaze to scopophilia, when one gains pleasure from looking at other people as objects. To continue, the audience can immediately see that the use of camera movement adds to the realism of the film. The cinematography is slightly shaky and at eye level of the main character. This could have been an intentional choice by the director as it alludes to the idea of the characters re-watching their memory from an external perspective. This film’s most prominent theme other than the nature of attraction, is the erasing and recursion of memories. This is evident as after further research, I found that this scene being recorded without a tripod, is what achieved this raw and realistic effect. Following the introduction of the male character within this extract, dialogue is exchanged between the characters. Their nervous yet pleased demeanour establishes the idea of their relationship being more intimate than platonic. Again, the use of the camera is still prevalent as it tracks the characters as they walk along the library. This amplifies the idea of a bystander watching their conversation as if revisiting a vivid memory. They then use the books and shelves of the library to hinders with what the characters are doing. This technique may have been deliberately used to create a sense of destruction of the continuity of their conversation. This perhaps was because it reflects on the timeline of their memories or suggestive of obstructions in their relationship.
The camera continues to pan and change focus as each character speaks in a myriad of ways. Through this, they break the conventional 180 degree rule of over-the-shoulder shots. Again, this in one of the several ways in which the audience view this scene as if it was a bystander watching the conversation. As there conversation progresses, an aspect of editing becomes prominent in this clip. The books on the shelves become achromatic, loosing any vibrance and fading to white entirely. This effect is incredibly subtle, that people don't even notice it until they're all blank. This foreshadows perhaps how their relationship can fade away and they wouldn't notice. Perhaps this was the director’s intention; people don’t notice things until they’re gone. However, this undeniably alludes to the main theme of this film which regret and memories. Moreover, the female protagonist (Propp’s theory of characters and actions as narrative function) gives an impression of anger and dependence and the male protagonist appears timid and gentle. Both of which, break the typical conventions of female and male representation in the media. What I find most striking about this clip besides the editing technique, is the parallel between the dialogue in the extract and the last lines at the end. The male protagonist says ‘Okay’ and accepts her flaws. This mirrors the ending of the film where he does the same.
The use of lighting is entirely high-key within this clip which accentuates the characters facial features to make them appear glamorous as well as revealing their facial expressions fully to give the audience full insight to the depth behind the narrative.
Gradually, the actors advance closer to each other and the camera shot transitions in a side profile of the couple who are quite close at this moment. Following this, non-diegetic music plays over the scene. The music is wistful, slow and conventional of the romance genre. Up until this moment, the sound was diegetic which preserved a sense of detachment until music played which created a unity between the two characters. The music increases in terms of pace and the characters become closer until the clip jump cuts to a shot of the male protagonist standing alone. Here, we can see all the books dissolved to white entirely which is when the audience realise the scene was in fact him revisiting the memory entirely. This brings to light the theme of conscious vs. and the theme of regret as he realises how much he cherishes memories with Clementine by watching their relationship from a place of an bystander. Also, we can see how the male character's choice of clothing was intentional as black holds connotations of loss and this is apparent through the loss of his memories and previous partner.
This film is categorised as an arthouse film as well as being classed as a science-fiction, comedy-drama film. This would most likely appeal to the ABC1 demographic as it is an arthouse film which as a genre tends to be more enlightening and educational. It is rated 15 under the BBFC classification. This is justified as there is some vulgar language and sexual content. This classification from the website states “the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.” The demographic of this film would include 15-30 year olds. I feel that this film appeals to this age group most as often people in the age range are most likely to be engaging in new relationships or ending them. However, this kind of emotion or depth may not be relatable to young children. The split would likely be 90% to 10% male. I think it is very obviously apparent why this type of content is far more appealing to them than it is to males. Romance as a genre typically attracts a more female demographic as a whole. This, according to Young and Rubicam is aimed at reformers and explorers as a psycho graphic audience. This is because Art house is a genre that only those who want to be intellectually enlightened want to watch.
3) Jim Jarmusch: Only Lovers Left Alive
This clip begins with a bird eye view of ‘Eve’ laying on the foot of her bed. This could have been achieved through the use of a drone. This shows a scene from directly overhead and does not include much detail yet it is used to give an overall impression. This shot does puts the audience in a godlike or any powerful position because they are looking down on the action. This suggests what the subject of the still may be insignificant or even feel unimportant. This high angle shot is often used later in the movie. As well as the the shot being a long shot and a bird’s eye view, the camera movement is also relevant here as it begins panning around a 360 degree circumference. This further enables the audience to be given an overall impression. The mise-en-scene here appears very thoughtful and telltale of this individual. Her hair is long and untamed, and she lies on the floor against a blue bed, surrounded by books. We can already tell she enjoys reading and is perhaps is a idealist. We are then shown a shot of another individual in his home, ‘Adam.’ The same aerial shot is used here but we are more zoomed into the subject rather than before where it could have been considered an establishing shot. Adam can be seen sprawled on a leather sofa, surrounded by shadows, guitar on his lap, also with the camera still circling above him. The use of dark shadows here is significantly more prominent in his shot in comparison to Eve’s suggest an undertone of darkness to his character which is not as apparent in Eve’s. The music used here is Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel of Love.” This song alludes to love where geography is irrelevant which links directly to this opening sequence as we can see these two people are not together. The use of this music however ties the scenes together, creating unity between them. This is called a sound bridge as it carries over a visual transition in a film. This type of editing provides a common transition in the continuity editing as the mood is connected through it. They are on opposite sides of the world yet they are connected.
To continue, we transition to a shot of a vinyl record through dissolve.The sound becomes synchronous rather than asynchronous. The is because the visuals are now parallel to the music. In terms of the music’s relevance to the scene, it is a parallel use of sound here. This scene dissolves again back to Eve’s room. We are using a similar angle here and another aerial shot. This is followed by another similar shot of Adam. The pace from the opening is extremely slow, adding to the serene, almost narcotised atmosphere. The opening continues echoing the soundtrack, circling the characters and and returning back to the vinyl record in a cyclical structure, suggesting events are inevitable and cannot be altered. This perhaps foreshadows something happening between these characters in the future. The use of these shots, the mise-en-scene, slow paced editing and thoughtful use of music create an aesthetic opening to this film successfully and indicate subtly at future events within the film. For instance, already we can see these people are destined for each other through their names. The names "Adam" and "Eve" can easily be deduced from the biblical creation myth or perhaps a reference to Mark Twain’s work.
This film is categorised as an arthouse film as well as being classed under the genre of horror, thriller, romance and drama. This would most likely appeal to the ABC1 demographic as it is an arthouse film.It is rated 15 under the BBFC classification. This classification from the website states “the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.” The demographic of this film would include 15-25 year olds. I feel that it would aim towards a younger demographic considering the themes used such as vampires. The split would likely be 80% to 20% male. I feel that females would be more likely to watch this particular type of film because romance is targeted towards them more.
4) Ingmar Bergman: Persona
This film’s narrative revolves around a nurse named Alma and her patient, Elisabet. This extract is the opening of the film. In this sequence, viewers are first introduced to the film by the sound of eerie and fear evoking non-diegetic music which immediately hints at the dark undertones them film consists of. The cinematography on the other hands begins with a screen of black and gradually we cans see lurid and odd sinuous shape reflections becoming more distinct and well defined. It appears that the first image we are presented with are some projectors and other film equipment. The pace is extremely slow paced and the light intensifies very steadily. As the bulb light heightens further, the setting is illuminated more until the scene is entirely overly exposed and fades or dissolves to white. After this point, the pace increases rapidly along with the sound, pitch and pace of the music. This is acts in accordance with a very high-pitched zapping noise which is synchronous with the visuals. This is followed by a series of montage style shots. It appears that the montage is cross cutting between a myriad of images of various types of equipment and a montage of self-contained images. We are presented with several images or clips, evoking entirely different associations. Any attempt to understand the links between the images feels futile so perhaps the deeper meaning was the dissociation that this film will evoke in its audiences. On the other hand, we could argue that this abstract style is pregnant when assessed in conjunction with the very fragmented narrative of this film. This sequence of film equipment is abruptly ruptured by the subliminal erect penis shown on screen. The audience can hear what sounds like a giggle along with this image. Following this, we return back to images of light and dark. We are directed to several shots of morbid images of slaughtered animals and frightening cartoon animations. A montage generally is used to give an overall impression of the content we will be viewing or to bridge a time lapse. This myriad of images cascading across the screen, achieves this perfectly.
There is still use of dissonant music here which again indicates an approaching menace being apparent in the film’s narrative but more so, unsettles the audience whilst evoking fear. The grotesque nature of these images hugely shocked a 1966 audience and are still effective despite the desensitisation of modern day audiences. As the clip progresses, more graphic images are presented until halfway through the clip where we are presented with close up shots of body parts such as hands and feet. This is an example of fetishisation of certain body parts.The music here dissipates and the lighting changes to high key rather than low key. Eventually, we are introduced on a character who gets up and puts her glasses to read and the music builds up slowly and intensifies. The character looks around ominously and caresses a blurry screen until the image becomes distinct and we can see a woman’s face clearly. The girl continues to rub the face until it blurs again and her eyes close. We jump cut to a close-up of the girls face and the title ‘Persona’ appears.
The mise-en-scene here is most relevant towards the end when we can see the individuals as a whole rather than fetishised. The lack of clothes and plain, white bedrooms give the impression of an institution. this foreshadows prominent themes of the film such as psychological deconstruction. Moreover, the lighting here is also a large aspect of what achieved the feeling of dread and dismay in their audiences. The lighting is majorly low key but there are instances of high key lighting. They use of low key lighting achieves an effect called chiaroscuro. The use of this dramatic effect of contrasting areas of light and dark intensifies moments and feelings in film. It also contributes to the opening sequence’s tense and anxiety ridden atmosphere.
The demographic for this film is likely to cater to a small population.This film is categorised as an arthouse film as well as being classed under the genre of thriller, mystery and drama. This would most likely appeal to the ABC1 demographic as it is an arthouse film. It is rated 15 under the BBFC classification. This classification from the website states “the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.” I found this surprising but justifiable. The demographic of this film would include 18-50 year olds. The demographic is likely to be oder as this is a classic film which is not very appealing to millennials. The split would likely be 30% to 70% male. The is because of the sheer amount of gore which stereotypically appeals to men more than females. An idea proposed by Kubrick stated we can vicariously reinforce pent up aggression through films. This could be applied to this film as we can evidently see substantial amounts of violence in it already.
5) Carol Morley: The Falling
This film immediately has a fan base due to the well known actress Maisie Williams. This instantly enables their film to gain popularity. What appealed to me, besides Maisie William’s starring role, are the psychologically twisted themes prevalent in this film. This clip begins with an extreme close up of a bruise. Its unclear where it has come from but it is suggested that it could be a love bite. The use of opening with an enigma code, (proposed by Barthes) intrigue the audience, enticing them and therefore encouraging them continue watching to eventually receive the relief of satisfaction. The next shot is a fetishistic close-up of a woman’s bun. These small, subtle shots add immense detail as to the genre and desired demographic of this film. The use of mise-en-scene here is what establishes this ultimately. Following these shots, we pan to who we assume to be the main focus of the film. This is the first face we are introduced to within this clip which is what helps us understand the significance of her role within the narrative. According to Propp’s theory of narrative roles, she would be the protagonist. Whilst these shots are being sequenced, the audio acts in accordance by using a deep, female voiceover. The voiceover is a poem by William Wadsworth (Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood) which alludes to biblical references. His poem simply suggests that the speaker feels that any once had glory has been stripped of this earth. This foreshadows the melancholy and sadness that will inhabit this film. To continue, the camera pans back from Maisie’s character and focuses on the woman fixing her hair again. This cyclical structure suggests a vicious cycle being apparent within the film. From the current setting of a bedroom where the two women are situated, we transition to a medium shot of two teenagers engaging in sexual intercourse in a car. Again, we can see a hickey on the female’s neck. They are often symbolic of a sign of passion and physical love. This perhaps is suggestive of the themes this film consists upon such as sex. Moreover, the use of this passionate scene focuses primarily on the female rather than the male. This links to Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. She proposed that often woman are presented as objects of male pleasure. Mulvey connects the male gaze to scopophilia, when one gains pleasure from looking at other people as objects. Additionally, Berger believed “men looked, women appeared.” He stated that women were there solely for the objectification.
The shot returns back to a fatigued Lydia reading a book. The voiceover is still in action, connecting all the scenes together. As she focuses on something in front of her and delves into her deeper thoughts, we are presented with a bizarre, montage like sequence. The sound transitions from a voiceover into non-diegetic music that resembles clockwork. This is alarming for audiences and evokes a sense of apprehension. This montage consists of several shots of people and nature. A montage generally is used to give an overall impression of the content we will be viewing or to bridge a time lapse. This cascading of images across the screen, achieves this superbly. What is most striking within this montage, is the shot of a year group assembling for a group photo and glitching until they disperse and then return almost statically. This along with the eerie, ominous music and fast paced transitions, creates tension and fear within the audience. Moreover, some of the shots have ambiguous meanings and suggest crime. For instance, we can see a school girl with red hands yet we cannot see her face. This creates enigma and the juxtaposition contrasts vastly with the serene shots of nature.
The montage gradually stops and we are presented with a shot of a schoolgirl ringing the bell whilst students make their way to class. We are presented with a medium shot of a blonde girl advancing towards the camera. The audience at this point realise this girl is the same from the previous sex scene. We can see Lydia is walking towards her and runs towards her for a hug. This scene is striking as it is a parallel to film’s ending in which two girls are crying in each others embrace. The girls can be seen hugging tightly until the blonde looks discomforted and Lydia asks what is wrong. As soon as the blonde speaks, we realise she is the voice of the voiceover. When asked what is wrong, she says she has butterflies. This intrigues the audience as we know about her previous circumstances. They both walk into school and the final shot of this clip is of the school girl tolling the bell. The scene dissolves to black. Another theory that could be applied here is Hook’s colour code. She stated that lighter skinned women are deemed ore desirable and fit better not the Western ideals of beauty so black women are often underrepresented. This is apparent here as all the characters we have seen were predominantly white with the exception of one Asian.
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