Short Film Influences

Meshes Of The Afternoon (1943)

Influenced by the films aesthetic; the film uses deep, opposing lighting to create shadows, which hide the protagonists identity. The use of camera angles and close ups also interests me, giving the film surrealist qualities.

Marie Menken - Lights (1966)

Influential for an experimental opening scene; luminous, flourescent colours. Static, ambient noise in the background. Switches focus between lights. Film changes speed; infers changes in perspective. Could potentially be used to suggest a drug scene, hallucinogenic visuals.

Len Lye - Rainbow Dance (1936), Kaleidoscope (1935)

Influentual through the use of dramatic colour changes and contrasts between silhouette colouring and background colouring. Creates an energetic movement through the frame, with dancing shapes and movements of bold, contrasting colours.

Andy Warhol - Screen Tests (1964-66)

Warhol films close up shots of his subjects, who complete minor movements such as turning their face from the camera or blinking; the film subjects those around Warhol's 'The Factory', such as Edie Sedgewick. Warhol filmed a series of 'screen tests' to record lighting. Incorporates harsh studio lighting, creating a polarity in light upon the subjects face; close up shots, filmed straight on to the subject, as though posing for a portrait. Lighting is similar to that of Meshes Of The Afternoon, featuring harsh, contrasting light upon black and white film. The concept is simple, however achieves a bold aesthetic. I may incorporate shots such as these within the opening scene, creating a surrealist aesthetic.

The Lighthouse - Trailer

 Although the film is a full length feature, the trailer reveals its intentions and aesthetics, the particulars of the film in which i am interested. The film is shot entirely in black and white, with contrasting light, like that of a Film Noir. The film also features surreal shot angles, such as high angles or shooting between frames.

 Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground (Music Video) - The White Stripes

 Influentual through the relations between the video's cinematography and direction to the song's lyrics. The video documents the protagonist wandering through his house after returning and finding it its contents disturbed and his wife gone. The video features projections over the walls of the house; the projections reference the destruction of the house, an insight into the past projected across the protagonist and his home.

 How Soon Is Now (Music Video) - The Smiths

 The video includes repetitive sequences, in the form of short clips. I may incorporate this, alongside changing the films speed. The colours featured within the video are also influentual, with filters added across the film in shallow reds and blues.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aesthetics Of Trainspotting

What are the conventions of Social Realism? Location Non-Professional actors Social issues explored via emotional and dramatic stories Humour and seriousness Regional identities Locations means the story feels more true to life for the audience, allowing people to relate to the film. Real life issues are incorporated into social realism films, such as unemployment, gang violence and drug use. The films also use regional identities, such as accents, to allow the audience to relate. What kind of political ideologies are most associated with this style of film making? Economic status, political agendas, such as communism, violence and drug use. What is hyperrealism? An art which tries to be as true to real life as possible. It features almost no narrative structure and no character development. Reality can also be enhanced until it becomes unreal, such as the toilet scene in transporting where Renton retrieves pills.
Read more

Prisoners

Prisoners  The scene begins outside a café, with a car central to the frame. Sounds of heavy rain and thunder can be heard, which, alongside the low key lighting outside of the café, creates a mysterious, eerie tone. The contrast between the high key lighting of the café and the low key lighting outside emphasises the weather conditions, and aids with the context of the sequence.  The scene then cuts to the inside of the café, where the sound of the weather is present, but muted much more than outside. The café is lit with high key lighting from all angles, making the area seem a refuge from the external world. The camera begins to pan in on a character (Jake Gylenhall), who sits at a table with his back to the audience, dressed in black attire and reading over a newspaper. The shot is interrupted by a waitress, who walks in front of the camera, and begins to talk with the unknown character. The shot continues to pan in as the two characters talk, and begins to raise in heigh
Read more

Pan's Labyrinth Essay

Pan’s Labyrinth Essay   The scene begins with a close up shot of Ofelia opening a book. The book seems to light Ofelia’s face with the brightness of the pages. The opening of a book also signifies a new chapter, either of the book or in life, in this case it is a new quest for Ofelia. It also links to the idea of fantasy, a recurring theme throughout the film, and represents the ideas of Disney, whose films always begin with the opening of a book. This addresses the theme of fairytales within the film, which can also be seen in other sequences within the film. The sequence then cuts to a close up of the book, inside which drawings of a slim, skeletal being appear. The drawings foreshadow the next quest, and ultimately the next obstacle. The scene then transitions to a close up of Ofelia, who appears shocked at the images appearing. A narrative of instructions over dubs the scene. The sequence cuts to a long shot of the room, with Ofelia situated on the bed. Within the s
Read more