George Gordon Painting

As a group we checked out this painting at the Leeds Art Gallery. Its a picture of General George Gordon who was a British General killed and beheaded while defending the city of khartoum. Back home he was seen as a hero so when he died it was a terrible shock to the nation. This painting shows his final moments before his death, meeting his fate head on, meeting his enemies.

Unknown to me at the time this painting's composition is not overly special, its formulaic.

When looking at this painting most of our eyes are drawn to Gordon standing proudly and clearly at the top of the stairs. Then our eyes naturally drift down to the enemies and circle the foot of the painting then follow back up to the general once again. There is a reason most of us follow this movement which I'll get to latter, I just want to look at some of the things I noticed when looking at this painting first.   

• He is wearing darker clothing than his enemies so he stands out a little.
• He is above his enemies, on the stairs the man closest to him is almost kneeling, worshiping this British figure.
• He is standing to left while his enimies are to the right. If you read my post on 'Space In Film' you'll see the significance of this.  
• He is calm and reassured while his enemies appear savage.

These are just a few points that I made when looking at the painting but there is another reason that the painting is interesting. We have to look at The Golden Section to understand why.

When you place the golden section over the painting the image seems to fit perfectly. The enemies are below in the larger empty section and Gordon is placed in the middle of the line on the left hand side. It's really interesting. The golden section is considered to be aesthetically pleasing and its been used throughout history, in art, architecture and even in finance. I dont quite know that much about the golden section so I'll have to do a little more reading.

The reason your eyes sort of do a circular movement while looking at this painting
(Gordon to enemies to Gordon) is found when you create a spiral formation within the golden section. This design is found all over the place, in our culture, in nature and in the universe. Our eyes seem to travel along an invisible line that looks something like this.

But that's not all the painting has to offer.
Now we look at the rule of thirds.

Its said that an image of an actor/actress/subject who is placed in the middle of the frame is really unappealing and in film terms; makes them look weak. The rule of thirds breaks down the frame into nine sections and within those sections you can build your image. Where you put the horizon, where the characters are placed ect...  Using the thirds rule allows you to create a more dynamic and interesting shot. Most digital cameras have a function were you can bring up the nine square grid and lay it over the image in your LCD screen.

If we take the rule of thirds grid and lay it over the painting all the lines seem to be perfectly matched with the people and locations on the canvas. This painting is the perfect example of perfect composition. It ticks all the boxes!

Mise-en-scene

(To put in the frame)

Mise-en-scene is simply the term used when you want to create meaning in your films. The lighting, the lenses, the costumes, the composition, the locations ect... All these, and more, are elements of film that help create meaning. All of the listed are visual elements, visuals the audience will see and interpret, so you need to create the meaning you want the audience to interpret. Everything in a film is there for a reason; to give the film meaning.

Understanding Scripts

We've taken a look at a couple of scenes from films in script form, in each scene the 3 act structure is clearly identifiable. But there is a way to read a script (and write them) that is crucial for any director/ filmaker who wants to create a meaningful and dramatic story.

Lead characters in films need goals, they need an opposite (antagonist) and they need obstacles to overcome to achieve those goals. Its creates drama and intrigue which is key to an interesting story.

Reading the script you have to ask yourself a number of questions and you need to understand what your reading.

• Who is the protagonist?
• Who is (is there?) the antagonist? 
• What are their goals?
• Identify the obstacles in their way. Inner & Exterior.
• How does the hero achieve his goals, does he achieve his goals? 
• Identify the 3 act structure    

The 3 Act Structure

 

Most films have a 3 act structure similarly to this diagram above. There is the hook, then there is an event that makes the character act which leads onto act 2. There is usually a midpoint crisis to keep the film in full swing, then at the end of act 2 there is another turning point, perhaps a realisation ect... that brings the films events into focus and gives the character a final push towards his/her goal.

But it's not just the full film that obeys the 3 act structure, each scene also tends to follow the same structure. So if you break down the film into 3 acts you can also break down each scene into 3 acts as well and when you look at a film this way you see a clear formula at work. Understanding this formula is key to good screen writing, if anything it makes the job easier.

Here's a short film I watched that shows the 3 act structure at work.



There is another theory. The 3 acts are broken up into eight sequences and each of those sequences has its own part to play in creating a whole film. We've just taken a look at The Matrix and this film uses all the eight sequences to tell it's story. The formula is hidden in plain sight.

• Act 1 - Sequence 1 & 2
• Act 2 - Sequence 3,4,5 & 6 
• Act 3 - Sequence 7 & 8 

In sequence 3 the meat of the story is usually reveled and the premise is set, when coming into sequence 6 if the film has a sub plot ie. a love interest, it usually hits its peak which in turn helps the character change perspective, opinion, situation and enables them to reach the climax of the film with a flourish.    

Of course all these rules can be broken and many of them are but you still need to understand them. 

Maverick Screenwriting Techniques

In the classic structure of a script the lead character is usually in control of their own destiny. In Maverick  films the characters are at the mercy of the world around them, they do not always posses the power to change their fate.

Notes on International Cinema

'The Lady In The Lake' is a film Noir made in 1946, its based on one of the classic and popular Marlowe crime novels.
It was film maker - Mick Garris's - 1st feature film and he used a very peculiar and brave method of capturing the point of view of the main character. He films the entire picture in 1st person, the other actors in the film talk directly to the audience (Marlowe) which must be really peculiar to watch.



Double Indemnity is another film Noir co wrote by the writer of the Marlowe crime novels, Chandler. This really hit big with the audiences and critics at the time. Its helped define the genre of film Noir but most importantly it managed to get across a point of view that wasn't gimmicky like the film above, this was achieved by having the writer of the novels on the production team.



Italian Neo-Realsim was a national film movement characterized by stories of the poor and the working class (similar to Britain's Kitchen Sink Drama?). It was filmed on location usually with unprofessional actors in post war Italy. This movement laid down the foundations that helped shape Hollywood, Novelle Vague and much latter on; todays Modern Cinema.

Godard's first feature film 'Breathless" was one of the most influential films of the Novelle Vague. The story featured a very existential lead character, unlike any hero of the screen at the time. The film also introduced the jump cut to cinema, a stylistic approach to editing that has flourished ever since.



Interestingly enough, on the 3rd episode of Ghost In The Shell The Stand Alone Complex there are lost of Godard references in a particular scene and most of the dialogue is inspired or replicates this film in some way. I'll have to check it out.

Ghost Dog, The Way Of The Samurai

Having briefly checked out Jim Jarmusch and his film Broken Flowers I wanted to see a bit more of his work. I saw Ghost Dog in my local DVD store and picked it up. If Jarmusch's name wasn't on the front I would have walked on by and completely ignored this film, I don't particularly like modern gangster flicks, I tend to like the romance of the older stuff like The Godfather and Goodfellas, having said that I really enjoyed Ghost Dog.

I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of what I liked I just want to comment on Jarmusch's style of film making and how much I like his minimalist approach. The film plays out in a very slow fashion, very similar to Broken Flowers and the story doesn't really go very far, which I've come to expect from a Jarmusch film, but the film was incredibly engaging, the characters all seemed peculiar in their own unique way, Jarmusch's use of cartoons to foreshadow future events was a subtle triumph and very clever, it added a layer of strangeness to the film even though the themes were dark and serious, it also made me see that cartoons themselves can have hidden messages and meaning. The Itchy and Scratchy clip at the end became very powerful within the context of the film.

I went on IMDB and checked out the Ghost Dog forum to see what others had thought of the film and how they interpreted it all. The most obvious point made was that each character was pretending to be a somebody. All the gangsters in the film were old, past it, acting like the big cheese when all they really are a group old men playing mobsters who have no money. Even Ghost Dog, a man following the code of the samurai acts strange; the movements he makes when walking and using his weapons all seem to be over acted, flamboyant, like a child fantasizing he's a hero. These are some of the subtle features in the film, the story is simple but the themes are many and complex, it's a thoughtful film but doesn't really try to say anything I don't think. Jarmusch clearly has his own unique way of telling a story and I really have enjoyed both his film so far.

From what I can see Jarmusch is a very talented story teller, his films visualize his stories. This is what interests me so much about him. His films are not for everybody, if I wasn't so interested in writing and creating fiction then I'd probably pass up on his films. I don't think they are intelligent films, I don't think they are art house films, I don't think they have a life changing meaning hidden with the frames, his films in my view are just stories about people and perhaps people's perception of the world. Jarmusch may twist and change common perception within his films but I just think he's having fun playing around with it.

This style runs very close to the way I see myself making films. Now that I'm working on The Tower, and having worked on The Drop's script, with all the influences I have I do think I'm slowly developing my ability to tell stories that are unique, that do perhaps say something about the world around us, about human nature and sometimes I just want to write a great little twist that takes people off guard. This is what I want to do, I want to tell stories.

I must keep an eye our for more of his films and see if my own understanding of his work is right.

Jazz Tunes

I've always enjoyed a bit of Jazz ever since I watched Blade Runner, I love the way it seems to help my creative juices flow. Below I've just posted a few tunes for future reference.

The Romantics

I was first introduced to the Romantics through William Blake, the film maker Jim Jarmusch (who I have recently been made aware of) had said that Blake was a large influence during his early 20's so I decided to do a little reading, but, like always I was introduced to a much larger world of artistry. Blake was an artist that opposed oppression and monarchy, he was one of a few artists that, at the time, were involved in the romantic European movement, a movement that helped shape society today.

Early one, at the very beginnings of the movement, Europe was heavily oppressed by the government and religion. Before this time people where only as free as the law allowed. Children were forced to work in factories and at times put into shackles on the streets of London.  The early romantics began to picture a world of freedom, a world where people were not born into chains, this coincides with the American revolution so its clear to see that the world was going through a dramatic shift of ideologies.

Latter, the Romantics began to find nature. poetry from Wordsworth and Coleridge helped Europe see the beauty and power of nature, but more importantly they helped define what it was to be a Romantic. The Romantics believe that the power of imagination is what defines us as individuals. These simple ideologies are the root of all modern European civilizations, we are more free than ever before and through the Romantic's poetry, art and ideas we live as we do now; with opportunity, freedom of speech and creativity all in our daily lives.

Moving on towards the 1800's the most famous of all the Romantics were Lord Byron, Shelly and his wife Mary. Marry went on to write the novel Frankenstein. Their work was slightly different from the likes of Wordsworth and Coleridge, their work was much darker, bringing about questions of science and the industrial revolution. Its funny, because during my A Levels I studied Shelly's Frankenstein and didn't like it all that much but now, as a much more open and focused soul I understand clearly the themes expressed in the story, the artistic flourish with every word. I think I'd like to go back and read the story again. 

The Romantics have quickly become a large point of interest to me, the fact that this movement played such an integral role in shaping the modern world is merely a small factor, for me, what's most important is their outlook on the world around us, especially the nature of humankind and the nature of our own planet, the questions of science and religion are still incredibly relevant today as they were almost 300 years ago.

Its seems we are all descendants of the Romantics.      

Low Light Filming Using DSLR

While out filming The Tower I really struggled with the lighting, as I'm using the camera on manual settings it was hard figuring out what settings are best for each scene. With lighter scenes any mishaps can be fixed during editing but all the low light scenes are harder to fix. This is because in low light areas the image becomes really grainy if the settings aren't right, I've done a little research and it seems the camera needs to be set with about 1600 ISO and the iris open wide. Best thing to do is go out and practice.

  Nighttime Shooting with a DSLR from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.