Strike: Opening Notes

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Expressive (formalist) Elements: 

  • Workers framed by factory machinery (wheel) 
  • Deep depth of field 
  • Kuleshov effect and cross fade (relates images) – factory owner looking at the factory workers, finds it funny
  • High angle tracking shot of the factory – expressive camera movement 
  • Expressive lighting e.g. high contrast, silhouette 
  • Montage 
  • Action reaction shots 
  • Puddle shot – reverse motion (rotated film? Upside down, reverse?)
  • Repetition of chimneys 
  • Expressive and exaggerated performances 
  • Corridor set – many doors, busy people, crowded 
  • Low level shot of factory chimneys 

 

Visual Representation of Sound: 

  • Written speech (dialogue – text) – title cards 
  • over-acting/expressive acting to make up for the lack of audible dialogue and therefore get meaning across

 

Extent and Limits of Verisimilitude: 

  • Dark shadows (man with pipe etc) – stylistic, not real life (high key lighting)
  • Workers working in the factory – real life
  • Over-acting to make up for lack of sound – not real life (e.g. factory owner looking at the workers)
  • Black and white/monochrome – changes the way that we view the film 
  • Only non-diegetic sound, which audiences wouldn’t even of heard at the time 
  • Shot in a factory 
  • Ordinary costumes 
  • No stars in the film

 

Positioning and Address of the Viewer:

  • Lenin quote tells the audience what to think/believe 
  • Addresses the viewer through written speech 
  • Laughing factory owner – looking directly at the camera – laughing at us? Mocking the working class in the audience? Positioning us as the factory workers?

 

Context and Messages:

  • Propaganda film e.g. Lenin quote (all got to work together)
  • First state Film Factory 
  • Factory owner is evil 

Narrative Devices and Structure: 

  • Strength that can be found when workers work together – Lenin quote opens the film 
  • Montage – introduces us to factory and factory workers
  • Told straight away that the film is split into parts  

Strike: Context Notes

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Key Terms: 

  • Propaganda 
  • Creative geography 
  • Constructed reality (fiction or nonfiction) (Bazin)
  • Socialist realism 
  • Continuity principle
  • Classic film: ELS, LS MS, CU etc 
  • Verisimilitude
  • Collision principle – two shots put together creates a whole new meaning 

 

Key Thinkers: 

  • Kuleshov (Kuleshov effect)
  • Sergi Eisenstein e.g. Battleship Potemkin – collision 
  • Dziga Vertov
  • Pudhovkin – continuity principle 
  • Bazin (“Rome, open city”, Rosselini, 1945 – Italian Neo-realism) – realism 
  • Kracauer 

 

Realist Techniques and Concepts: 

  • Deep Focus
  • Free/moving eye
  • Static camera
  • Extended shot duration 
  • Eye level 
  • Wide Shot 

 

Middle between the two is classicism

 

Formalist Techniques and Concepts: 

  • Non-diegetic music 
  • Sets 
  • Editing
  • Camera angles
  • Heightened lighting
  • Split screen
  • Space/time manipulation  

 

 

Classic Film Form: 

  • Creative geography 
  • Soviet Montage – cuts should be visual – collision principle/discontinuity 
  • Combination of realist and formalist (classicism)

 

How Editing Makes Meaning: 

  • Kuleshov effect 
  • Soviet montage 
  • Order, duration, repetition and rhythm

 

How Mise-en-Scene Makes Meaning: 

  • Form – montage?
  • Content – setting, lighting, universal focus, performance, composition etc. 

 

Communist Concepts Manifest in Soviet Montage: 

  • Centralised production 
  • Film contributing to the revolution and propaganda e.g. workers rights 
  • Film maker as the engineer 
  • Film industry part of the state control of industry 
  • Narkompros – one state owned film studio 

 

5 Types of Soviet Montage: 

  • Intellectual Montage:  the cutting outs together concepts constructing ideas through edit 
  • Tonal Montage: feelings
  • Metric Montage: cuts happen irrelevant of content but according to time 
  • Rhythmic Montage: cut to music 
  • Over Tonal Montage: mis of tonal, metric, and rhythmic montage  

 

What Were Bazin’s Two Main Problems With Expressive/Formalist Cinema?

  • Realism is more important, pure, authentic 

 

How and Why did the Soviets Become Experts and Pioneers in Film Editing?

  • Studied filmmaking and first film school 
  • Initially didn’t have and film stock (no factories, trouble importing) looked at old films and chopped it up 

 

Why Might Formalist Techniques and Ideas Keep Evolving in the Future in a Way that Realist Ones Might Not?

  • You can’t evolve reality unless society does too but you can evolve imagination 

Film Easter ISP

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Film Easter ISP

 

The Fallen Angels Question didn’t work for some reason, so here it is:

Section D: Film movements – Experimental film (1960-2000)

62) To what extent is the film you have studied recognisable as the product of an auteur? [20]

Fallen Angels is very recognisable as the product of the auteur Wong Kar-wai. For example, his recognisable use of film form. One of the main examples is his use of non-diegetic pop songs throughout the movie, not for ironic purposes, but to connote certain feelings to the audience. Another main example is his use of rain, which he uses to bring characters together in Fallen Angels, furthering the themes of loneliness and togetherness. The mise-en-scene of rain is also used in his other films like ‘The Grandmaster’. Furthermore, he has a specific use of editing in terms of time manipulation to convey meaning. Such as, the use of step printing, like during the assassination sequence, which to partially used to connote a sense of coolness to the character. He also uses slow motion, like the slow motion of the train dirivng past during the opening, which has a sense of lonliness. Simialrly, his use of cinematography also does this. His use of wide angle lens and deep depth of field shots create the sense of sepeartion, as the character at the front is distant from those behind them, creating the sense of lonliness and need for connection with other human beings. These themes can also be seen in his film ‘Chungking Express’, which is the sister film to Fallen Angels, which was initially the third part to the movie. Another connection between these movies are the actors. Interestingly, the same non-actor was used in both, which is an experminetal attitude to film making.  

 

Narratively, Wong Kar-wai’s work tends to be experimental, which is part of his auteur signature. Such as, instead of the narrative focusing on plot and explantaion, it focuses on character, themes like lonliness and connection, and emtions, as he uses expermintal narrative devices and narrative structure to convey very real human emotion. Such as, the narrative device during the opening of narrative repeition of two characters following the same path through the station, then both picking up the same key (close up) and enetring the same house but at different times highlights their lonliness and lack of close connection. This is instead of narrative devices being used for expostion, which most films have during the opengn equilibrium, but Fallen Angels does not. Throughout, instead of explaining who the charcaters are, and why they do what they do, like why the man assisinates people, Wong Kar-wai doesn’t tell us, and instead focuses on the emotion. This could be why the ending equilibrium is open instead of a closed ending, as the two characters on the same bike, with her holding on to him, is suggesting a closness between the two, even if momentary, which in a way sums up the themes of the films and the emotions of the film rather than any plot. During this ending, the lighting in the tunnel is green, and green lighting was also iused earlier when the son was spying on his dad watching the footage he filmed. As Wong Kar-wai doesn’t foolow traditional colour theory, it can be hard to intepret the exact connotations and meaning of his colour choices, but they are picked intentionaly and for emotional meaning. It’s possible due to both times that green lighting was used that it represents closeness between the characters. 

Film Lesson 03/03/20

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Apply one filmmaker’s theory of documentary film you have studied to your chosen documentary. How far does this increase your understanding of the film?

On the one hand, studying Michael Moore’s documentary theory increased my understanding of the film Amy. This is because, there are elements of Amy that align with the theory. Such as, the use of editing, like the Ken Burns effect, which is a way of manipulating the footage to tell the viewer what to think and feel – this links in with Michael Moore’s way of making documentary, contrasting say to someone like Longinotto. Such as, in Amy, there is a park scene which includes a long shot of Amy in a provocative outfit, and the Ken burns effect is used, along with voice over talking about Amy’s provocative behaviour. This is inviting a certain viewpoint of Amy, and therefore links in with Michael Moore’s theory and way of film making. This could be seen as a negative thing, however, this moment can also be interpreted as a way of the documentary commentating on the media’s representation of Amy, rather than trying to convey a connotation itself. This is emphasised by the photo being a paparazzi picture, as well as many other photos in the film.

This isn’t the only moment in the film that has been used to create a specific emotion. Such as, the shot that goes from Amy’s house and up into the air, signifying how Amy was forced out of her own home. This was taken using a drone, and could only have been done using digital technology. The shot also conveys the unfair way that Amy was treated, which is therefore purposefully conveying something to the spectator, which links in with Michael Moore’s way of film making. Moreover, the film also uses fake/edited lens flare in multiple occasions, such as the singing booth scene, which has happy and other positive connotations, therefore trying to sway the audience emotions.

Further more, the opening of the movie is full of film form elements that fit in with Michael Moore’s film making theory and documentary style. Such as, the opening found footage being of Amy singing at a friends birthday, and the person we seen not even being her. This is a way of representing her as a every day person, contrasting to the media representations of her. Moreover, there is slow motion of Amy after she explains that singing is something she can just do, while her ‘performance’ is happy. This paints a positive picture of Amy, which links into Moore’s documentary theory, especially when you consider how the director may have chosen to be biased to contrast preconceived media idea and representations of Amy, which is something that Moore does too, except he’d never focus on a specific person, more likely an industry for example.

 

Fallen Angels Question [20]

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  1. To what extent do you recognise the film you have studied as the work of an experimental Auteur? [20] 

Fallen Angels is full of film form elements that are identifiable as Auteur features of the director Wong Kar Wai. For example, during the assassination sequence, the mise en scene is typical of Wong Kar Wai, due to the use of a Hong Kong night scape and rain. The sound is also typical of Wong Kar Wai, such as the use of a pop song to evoke a specific feeling, and not being used ironically. However, in the assassination sequence there are also film form elements that are both Auteur features and experimental features. Such as, the various forms of time manipulation. For example, the use of step printing, which is used to emphasise the themes of loneliness and isolation as it separates the character from everyone else on screen. Moreover, there is also use of slow motion which again is used to create a feeling. This makes sense as Wong Kar Wai films usually are made to evoke feelings, rather than focus on a clear narrative. Another example of a Wong Kar Wai film like this is Chungking Express, which in many ways is attached to Fallen Angels, as Fallen Angels would have been the third story to Chungking Express, if it wasn’t already too long. 

Moreover, the assasination scene also includes more film form elements that are typical of Wong Kar Wai, as well as experimental. Such as, the wide angle lens. Wong Kar Wai uses a wide angle lens a lot in his films, and it tends to distort the faces of the actors, such as in the close up of the female character in the opening of the movie. Moreover, dynamic editing is used during the assasination sequence, like the many jump cuts used, often to seemingly random places in the scene. This helps to create an emotional response in the audience, possibly tension, as the jump cuts are definitely not used for narrative purpose. There is also dynamic editing in the opening of the movie, such as the break of the 180 degree rule (which can also be seen as experimental), the lack of continuous shots, and again the use of jump cuts. 

Typical of Wong Kar Wai, the opening has strong feelings and exploration of the theme loneliness. This is partially done through time manipulation, like the sped up shot of the train (and plant) which has a feeling of emptiness, and therefore loneliness. Moreover, sound is used to connote the feeling of loneliness. The diegetic noises tend to sound tinny and phasing, which has an echoey feel which again links to loneliness. The narrative repetition of the two characters doing the same thing, such as the close up of retrieving the keys and both entering the same house, but at different times also links into this theme as the characters are far removed from one another despite doing the same thing. This is emphasised by the train station scene which is done once with the woman and once with the man, and how they go the same route separately but how the dynamic editing in both scenes are the same.

Strike Essay

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3.2) Explore how your film option might be considered as either a realist or an expressionist kind of cinema. Make reference to a particular sequence in your answer. [20]

 

‘Strike’ is directed by Eisenstein, a Soviet film director, who is typically associated with expressionist cinema rather than realist, contrasting to someone like Bazin who focused on realist cinema. The main example of expressionistic film making in ‘Strike’ is the use of editing. Such as, the use of the Kuleshov effect. During the opening of the movie, Eisenstein utilises the Kuleshov effects and cross fades when cutting between the factory boss man and the workers at the factory. This is a way of relating the two together, and the audience being told how the boss feels about the factories workers, especially when paired with the exaggerated performances. Getting across the boss’ opinion on the factory workers is important, as the film Communist propaganda, and focused on the mistreatment of the workers and how everyone working together in unity to revolt is how they shall succeed, as shown by the opening Lenin quote which directly addresses the audience. Later on, montage is used which is another example of ‘Strike’ being an example of expressionist cinema. Such as, the montage at the end of the movie of everyone running away, the police chasing them, people and the cow dying. This is an example of tonal montage as it makes you feel a certain way (scared and upset) but also an example of the collision principle, as the shot of the dead cow with the shot of the dead people produces it’s own meaning comparing the working class to animals. Although this scene is largely expressionistic, there is a moment of realist cinema when the camera lingers of the dead child for effect. This leans into realist cinema as an element of the was long duration shots.

 

The film was also expressionistic in terms of cinematography, and sometimes mise en scene. For example, during the opening, there is a set which is an example of expressionist cinema. This is when the workers are all rushing through the hallway and was probably created to connote this sense of chaos, as so many workers all rush through a small hallway. The opening also includes an impressive overhead tracking shot of the factory, which is a formalist technique. Moreover, there is also use of back lighting and silhouetting, which is a very expressionistic technique and use of cinematography and may connote a sense of secretiveness. The middle sequence when the rich men are sat at the table also has expressionistic uses of cinematography. Such as, the lighting that follows the helper on the stairs. This could be to emphasise how he is a working-class citizen like the factory workers, yet isn’t on their side, linking back to the Lenin quote and how everyone needs to work together to succeed. These formalist cinematography elements to some extent break the verisimilitude of the film, as they are moments that are clearly cinema and constructed rather than real life, such as the silhouetting during the opening. The exaggerated performances, used as visual representation of sound, are also examples of the breaking of the verisimilitude, as they aren’t realistic moments. Therefore, this is another example of the film being expressionistic.

To what extent has digital technology been essential to the production of ‘Amy’ [20]

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To what extent has digital technology been essential to the production of ‘Amy’ [20]

 

Digital technology was essential to the production of ‘Amy’, therefore proving that regarding the critical debate, the significance of digital technology is high. For example, many sequences in ‘Amy’ begin with an establishing shot that was shot using a drone. Like, the shot of Camden from above. This could not have been done using film, as it’s too heavy, and is an example of digital technology being needed to create meaning. In this case, to establish where we are in the story of Amy’s life. Drone footage is also necessary later on in the movie, therefore being another example of the significance of digital technology. Such as how the opening of the ending scene is shot with a drone that goes from Amy’s house and up into the air, a visual metaphor that emphasises how she was forced from her home to the airport when paired with the non-diegetic voice over that explained the situation. This shot was therefore constructed to get across this meaning, and the idea that the people who forced Amy to the airport were wrong in doing so. This links to Michael Moore’s documentary theory and his documentary making/style, as he often uses film form elements like certain pieces of cinematography to evoke a certain emotion in the audience, just like this bit of drone footage in Amy. Like Moore, ‘Amy’ can be considered a biased film to counteract preconceived media representations and opinions of Amy. Hence, why they might have chosen the opening to be archive footage of Amy as a talented child, represented as an ordinary human who isn’t the focus of the video, to show us another side to her and a side that you can’t dislike. This contrasts to Longinotto’s documentary style and theory, as she focuses on her documentaries being as non-fictional and as real as possible. 

 

Digital technology was also shown as essential to the production of ‘Amy’ in other ways. In that the majority of the archive footage/found footage that made up the movie was filmed or taken using digital technology. Such as, the use of phones. This opposed the paparazzi images in some cases. Such as, the picture of Amy with a homeless person was clearly taken on a phone. This is noticeable due to the performance of Amy playing up to the camera, and how close the photo was taken to Amy. This picture represents Amy in a positive light, as her being nice to a homeless man has positive connotations. To contrast, the paparazzi images have the opposite effect. Such as, the long shot of Amy in the park which was taken using a long lense emphasising the sense of being spied on. This photo is then edited with the Ken Burns effect, another example of digital technology, which shows Amy’s outfit and inviting judgment, especially when paired with the non-diegetic voice over discussing her promiscuity. It’s possible that the film used digital technology in this way not to judge Amy but to judge the media and paparazzi – the director may have wanted to highlight how mean media could be, rather than judge Amy and encourage us to judge her too. Phones are also used during the performance section, when Amy is refusing to sing while on stage. The use of found footage shot on phones positions us with the audience, meaning when the crowd goes from cheering to yelling ‘sing’ and other mean things so quickly, the feelings from this and the connotations are heightened. As someone who has been watching the film, having seen Amy’s journey to this point, being positioned in the crowd probably makes the audience member uncomfortable, and is a moment that the film invites the audience to side with Amy. This is against Longinotto’s documentary making, as although she uses functional film form elements her work is unbiased. However, constructed realism will always be present no matter how hard a documentary film maker tries to make it realistic as there will always be an element of construction.

Evaluation Plan

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Introduction: A brief explanation of the plot with reference to ideology. Mention the short films that I took inspiration from. 

 

Narrative: A thorough explanation of the narrative structure and narrative devices in my short film. Talk about how I was directly and specifically inspired by some of the short films. Such as, ‘When the Day Breaks’, ‘La Jetee’, ‘Night Fishing’ and ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’. Also make reference to feature length films that I took influence from. 

 

Mise en Scene: A thorough explanation of the mise en scene choices in my film. Talk about how I was directly influenced by some of the short films we studied like, ‘When the Day Breaks’ and ‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ 

 

Cinematography: An explanation of my cinematography choices, making sure to use lots of key terminology and specific references to my short film. Remember to link to short films that we have studied, and influence taken from them. 

 

Sound: An explanation of the sound choices in my film. Link to short films that we have studied like ‘Night Fishing’ and any others if possible. 

 

Conclusion: Discuss overlapping similarities and common connections, such as a particular short film that I was most inspired by. Sum up quickly what has been said.