New Wave:

*Existentialism- there is no secrets, no answer and no truth to life. ‘It just is’

‘Breathless’
1. Original innovation to film form (sound, editing, lighting, mise-en-scene, cinematography, props, costumes)
Jump cuts;
Filmed quickly;
Natural lighting/absence of constructive sets;
Diegetic sound on location;
Hand held cameras (gives it a documentary vibe- it is a subjective film style, they did this may be out of reaction to cashier du cinema or Hollywood)

2. Linked to a specific cultural, historical political context

3. Original narrative- questions causality, challenges character archetype, difficult to categorise as a genre
Michelle is a frustrating character because he just ‘is’
4. Development in new technology- experimentation

5. Ideological message or context
Existentialism- this is not about binaries (for example, it is possible for Patricia to be the virgin and the whore)
6. Reaction or response to mainstream film

7. Groups of films or film makers

New Wave

Conditions that make a new wave movement: Development in new technology- always accompanies something new in terms of the way film can be made; Philosophical/Ideological content- the film is usually connected to a particular ideology or philosophy, or is usually saying something; Reaction or response- responding or reacting to mainstream (the formula has become tired) or dominant film; Political/Social/Cultural (art) context(time); Group of films/film makers- happen to be doing the same thing at the same time; Innovations/Originality in macro(narrative- how the story is told)/micro techniques.

The main thing the French new wave did is that they got out of sets (studio sets)- it’s in real places. This is because of the new technologies that existed allowing portable camera equipment, so they could film on the streets and make it real.
Films took a long time to make because they had to rebuild a set and etc.
But with French new wave movement, films were made in little time as they could just go down to the natural location to film.

Innovation in breathless- jump cuts were used to break normal editing techniques
French new wave breaks away from the binary opposites- makes the villain the hero as well.
It doesn’t really have a genre.

Reaction or response to mainstream- breaks away from the formulaic mainstream.

Philosophical/Ideological content- Existentialism is what it means to exist, and no one knows the meaning of it, although we all look for it (if you cannot know, don’t judge- we are never given the opportunity to judge the character of Michel). In ‘Breathless’ there is an absence of drama because they are just trying to make the film about the man’s experience of being existent at the time.

Philosophic/Ideological content-Existentialism was a philosophy written as a reaction to France

Crime and Comedy- We have chosen to create a hybrid of crime and comedy in our creative project. This is because, we have drawn inspiration from our small scale research projects and also from our AS studies on British Teenage Crime. Also, crime and comedy are easier to deal with or more realistic for coursework than for example, action adventure.

Project- We’re exploring the range of micro features we have learnt in AS, as well as our small scale research projects and will use it to create a short film as our creative project. We have chosen to make a short film because we want a circular narrative and this is only effective when an audience views the whole film, rather than viewing a climatic sequence or an opening sequence.

Target Audience- (15) This short film will be targeted at young teenagers. We are going to put in effect, what we’ve learnt about targeting an audience from our recent studies into making sure that we really attract our target audience. Also, we are using a cast of young teenage boys, so this will make it more attractive to our targeted audience because, young people will relate more to them than adults.

Role within the production- In this film production, I am going to be co-director, editor and me and my partner are going to write the screenplay together. My directing skills will mostly derive from techniques Shane Black uses because I carried out research on him for my small scale research project and I admire his style of directing.

Key stylistic elements of sequence- There will be many shots within some scenes and a lot of cuts, just to create the right atmosphere for the genre. The costumes for the main characters are going to be gang related, so they will be costumes like hoodies, branded trainers, hats etc. The sound in the film will be non-diegetic, sound tracks will be added on to the production in the editing process (post production). Sound effects

Influential areas of study- AS British Urban Crime; A2 Small Scale Research Project, Film Noir, Micro/Macro features; folly artists, Shane Black,.

Genre- Crime, Comedy
Short film
Young teenagers
Co-director/co-producer/editor
Fast paced editing, Point of view shot, etc
A2 Small Scale Research project (Shane Black); British urban crime drama

What exactly am I supposed to find out about Michael Bay in conjunction with the American action adventure genre? (is it his life experiences or is it merely his creativity based on history or what?)

Have you got any ideas of books, blogs or sites that I can look up to get more ideas about the action adventure genre and why Michael Bay is involved with it?

How can I focus on the gender representation (heroic male) in these American action movies?

GENRE: Action Adventure Movies
DIRECTORS OF THE GENRE: John Woo, Christopher Nolan
MOVIES OF THE GENRE: Mission Impossible 2(31/4 rating), Paycheck(21/2), Redcliff 1 and 2,
About the genre:
Action Adventure movies must have a dramatic course or route; movies of this genre are made to provide an energetic and intriguing experience for the audience.
CONVENTIONS OF THE GENRE
The conventions expected in action adventure movies are most especially stunt work and special effects, the good guy or the hero is expected to win, and the heroes are usually patriotic Americans, e.g. Vin Diesel in xXx. The movies are of big budget, there is always a chase scene which is very fast-paced, it is always a story of the good guys versus the bad guys and the bad guys are usually either terrorists or any other kind of criminal- in the past, the bad guys were usually Nazis or communists, e.g. American X, This Is England.
The camera movements and angles also play a role in the genre; close-ups are used to show emotions on the actors’ face and any other thing that is important in the plot. A point of view shot is usually used in a chase scene from one of the characters’ perspective. Dolly track and steadicam are used by the operator to follow the character when they are in action to increase tension and create a sense of chaos.
The editing techniques used are usually fast paced in a chase scene with use of different camera angles from different points of view. A special editing effect is only used when the director wants to end the action in a previous location, this is because the director doesn’t want the audience to be distracted by special effects in a fast paced scene i.e. it is more about the action than the effects.
The action is emphasised with a mixture of digetic and non-digetic sound, during a chase scene, fast paced music is played onto the scene to go according to how the action takes place. They also consist of loud soundtracks. Technology plays a big role in the action adventure genre; it brings it to live and makes it more exciting and entertaining for the audience.

Filmmakers from the 2000s have used female actors to play the heroic character because of the growing social conceptions of gender. Masculinity,

TARGET AUDIENCE: Action Adventure movies are mostly aimed at a young male audience from early teen years to mid-30s.

I will be looking at the representation of masculinity in American action movies with reference to Vin Diesel in A Man Apart 2003 and xXx 2002.
Vin Diesel is a conventional action hero in action adventure movies and he is also known for his trademarks: shaving his head, his deep voice, his muscular body and his heavy boots. Although he is always represented as a strong-minded character, there is a film where he has and shows a soft side to him- The Pacifier 2005, he is represented as a family guy, very altruistic in this film but at the same time still has his ‘action traits’.

About the genre:
Movies of this genre are made to provide an energetic experience for the audience
The conventions expected in action adventure movies are stunt work and special effects, the good guy or the hero is expected to win, and the heroes are usually patriotic Americans, e.g. Vin Diesel in xXx. They are of big budget, there is always a chase scene which is very fast-paced, it is always a story of the good guys versus the bad guys and the bad guys are usually either terrorists or any other kind of criminal- in the past, the bad guys were usually Nazis or communists, e.g. American X, This Is England.
The camera movements and angles also play a role in the genre, close-ups are used to show emotions on the actors’ face and any other thing that is important in the plot. A point of view shot is usually used in a chase scene from one of the characters perspective. Dolly track and steadicam are used by the operator to follow the character when they are in action to create a sense of chaos.
The editing techniques used are usually fast paced in a chase scene with use of different camera angles from different points of view, e.g. In Fast Five when Vin Diesel was being chased while he was in possession of the vault. A special editing effect is only used when the director wants to end the action in a previous location.
The action is emphasised with a mixture of diegetic and non-diegitc sound, during a chase scene, fast paced music is played onto the scene to go according to how the action takes place.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Laura Mulvey a feminist film theorist introduced the concept of ‘the male gaze’ which influences the media. She believes that audiences have to view female characters from a media product from the perspective of a heterosexual male. And this relegates women to the status of objects, sometimes the sexualising of the female body in adverts has nothing to do with the product being advertised.

Today looking at some clips taken from a variety of media productions, we were able to apply a number of key terms surrounding Mulvey’s theory – the concept of the male gaze. In the first film, Psycho…, there was voyeurism, where the stalker had a hole in the wall hidden with a picture frame and was peeping through the hole, watching the woman undress. The audience was also put in the position of the stalker with the use of the camera angles when the woman was having a shower, as if to let the audience obtain sexual gratification. The audience are forced to view the scene in the perspective of a male. In the second film, Rogger Rabbit, I think it can be agreed that the female cartoon character has been drawn by a male in the way they want a woman to look like: with big chest, tiny waist, big bum and her face looking pretty (their ideal perfect body for a woman). The married man in the clip fetishises the cartoon female, he couldn’t take his eyes off her body and he was almost giving in to her. She was using her body to gain power over him, she isn’t stereotypical, as in, passive and just being in the movie to look pretty, instead she’s using her physical appearance to control him almost…..

LAdy Gaga’s official website: http://www.ladygaga.com/alejandro/

Lady Gaga just released her latest single ‘Telephone’, it was premiered on Channel E! by 11:00pm.