Criticisms Presentation
- 1. Criticisms A Film By Tom, Solo and James
- 2. The Theory • This film is inspired by the Formalist theory. We wanted to focus on the structure and shooting of the film instead of having a coherent or linear plot. This is why we shot the fight scene (in an attempt to replicate those of Hollywood style films) and also why we attempted to do a long take, and put a lot of focus on the cutting of the film. • We also wanted to incorporate many criticisms of cinema and of ourselves. The criticisms of cinema are the same as the previous film: Voyeurism, repetition and pacing. The criticisms of ourselves are: My dad, James’ car crash, and Solo’s self- confidence. • We wanted to add a personal touch to the film as we felt it would make the film more individual, and also felt it would be a nice mirroring with our other criticisms. • We also wanted to use a meta structure, to not only break the fourth wall, but also to further call attention to the fact that we are commenting on all films, including our own.
- 3. The Fight Scene • Our original idea for the opening of this film was a chase sequence; however, due to time constraints we had to change it to a slightly easier to film sequence. • Solo’s job was to choreograph the fight scene, and act in it. Both Caleb and Solo practiced as we continued to set up the camera and test shots. • James’ job was to set up lighting and the set we used during the dance sequence. He also featured in the dance sequence briefly. • Tom’s job was to direct and film the fight and dance sequence. • We used a D3100 Nikon camera, as well as Dedo lighting. We experimented with different lenses including a macro lens, but they didn’t pick up the light and thus we just used a wide angle lens.
- 4. The Review and Call Scene • The review scene was structured improvisation as we gave our actor brief guidelines to follow, but he came up with the dialogue himself. This was shot continuously and led into the subsequent parts, including the criticisms of James. • However, because this continuous shot felt too long in the edit, during the call we used footage of Tom as a baby with his father to both anchor the emotion behind the scene, and to elevate any possible boredom and pacing issues. • This was shot handheld using the D3100 Nikon camera and using a Felloni panel light.
- 5. James’ Criticism • This was a continuation of the previous scene; this like the previous scene was improvised by our actor with direction from James. We wanted to continue the shot just like in Michael Haneke’s Hidden where the same camera is used to shoot both the TV show and the behind the scenes. We wanted it to be used to shoot both the review and the interview. • This also created another dimension within the film, just like the critic criticizing the fight scene, and when we cut to the room where the interview is still heard in another room, but all who were present there are also present in that room.
- 6. Solo’s Criticism • In Solo’s section we unanimously decided to include both a criticism of Solo and of the whole group to tie the film together. Like previously stated we wanted to create multiple dimensions having our actor walk through the door into the room we were all present in. • We were also going to have an alternate ending where our actor is killed by the three of us; however, we realized that we couldn’t film a convincing scene like that in the space we had chosen for the shoot, and also it was more bombastic than the ending we chose, something slightly more subtle, displaying that while our insecurities still linger, we are capable of moving on sometime in the future.
- 7. Is This Experimental? • We strongly believe that this is our strongest experimental piece out of the two, as it’s non-linear structure and loose narrative help to aide our themes (which we believe have been discussed in a more complex and subtle manner) furthermore we believe that we as a group experimented more with our style, internally, and structurally creating a loose narrative that subtly displays our inner most fears, insecurities, and thoughts on cinema.