Thursday, 20 November 2014
Toast
Here is the short mockumentary film, titled 'Toast'. This is a film about bread being a real life addictive drug. It is very funny, and a very good example of a mockumentary done well.
Genre - Documentary (Part 4)
In this blog post I will be doing a textual analysis of a documentary film. The short film I have chosen is called 'Searching for Sugar Man'.
'Searching for Sugar Man' is a documentary that follows two fans from Cape Town as they set out to discover what has become of the musician Sixto Rodriguez who was wildly popular in South Africa but largely unknown in his own country, the U.S. In this answer I will analyse the camera work, editing, lighting, sound and mise-en-scene of this film.
Beginning with camera work, every time you are seeing a person talk on screen, the camera is always aimed at the waist and above, and this of course is a medium close up shot, for example when the music producer is talking about his pain of not finding the so called 'Sugar man', and he plays some music, only the top half of his body is being filmed, and this is typical of most documentary films when people are being interviewed. A convention of the documentary genre is the use of interviews from people who are involved or have an in depth knowledge on the documentary subject, and this use of the medium close up shot works well as it shows the facial expression and emotion of the person being interviewed. This is effective in the music producer interview because we can feel the pain he is experiencing when he talks about how much he misses the man he once knew very well. Now I will look at editing, and in this extract of the documentary, and there is a part when there is archive footage, edited together with set-up footage , footage shot when the documentary maker is talking to the man at the beginning, and a non-diegetic voiceover playing over the top. This mash up of different shots and the use of non-diegetic sound makes this a typical documentary. The use of archive footage is a typical feature of many documentaries, as it adds more information from other sources that the documentary maker cannot get across himself, and it adds strength to an argument. In addition, set-up footage is another convention of the documentary genre, and in this extract, there is a classic example. When the voice over talks about meeting up with another person on the hunt for the 'Sugar man' in a coffee shop, shots on screen are edited in showing the actions of the two men meeting, as the voiceover tells the story.
Moving onwards, I will look now look at lighting in this documentary extract. In the interview scene with the music producer, light is shone on the interviewee from the side to fully highlight the facial expressions of the person being interviewed. This is typical of a documentary interview scene. However, usually a 3 point lighting system is used and this fully exposes the facial expression and emotions of your subject as well as isolates them from the background and hides unwanted shadows. The 3 point lighting system is the professional standard and it’s used by nearly all documentary film makers. Your back light creates a nice highlight around your subject’s hair, shoulders and face that help separate them from the background. The key light is the main lighting source casting directional lighting and shadows on the subject’s face and body. The last light in this setup is called the fill light. The fill light is a softer light that helps fill unsightly shadows created by the key light.
Now I will look at sound in this documentary extract. At the beginning of the extract when the man is walking around looking for his atlas, there is non-diegetic music being played as he hunts. This music is upbeat but it has a steady rhythm, and the music gives a sense of adventure; and of course this music reflects the whole journey of trying to find the atlas, and then looking on the atlas to find the possible whereabouts of the 'Sugar Man' in Dearborn, Detroit. This is typical of a conventional documentary because sound coveys emotion and then the picture on screen coveys the valuable information.
'Searching for Sugar Man' is a documentary that follows two fans from Cape Town as they set out to discover what has become of the musician Sixto Rodriguez who was wildly popular in South Africa but largely unknown in his own country, the U.S. In this answer I will analyse the camera work, editing, lighting, sound and mise-en-scene of this film.
Beginning with camera work, every time you are seeing a person talk on screen, the camera is always aimed at the waist and above, and this of course is a medium close up shot, for example when the music producer is talking about his pain of not finding the so called 'Sugar man', and he plays some music, only the top half of his body is being filmed, and this is typical of most documentary films when people are being interviewed. A convention of the documentary genre is the use of interviews from people who are involved or have an in depth knowledge on the documentary subject, and this use of the medium close up shot works well as it shows the facial expression and emotion of the person being interviewed. This is effective in the music producer interview because we can feel the pain he is experiencing when he talks about how much he misses the man he once knew very well. Now I will look at editing, and in this extract of the documentary, and there is a part when there is archive footage, edited together with set-up footage , footage shot when the documentary maker is talking to the man at the beginning, and a non-diegetic voiceover playing over the top. This mash up of different shots and the use of non-diegetic sound makes this a typical documentary. The use of archive footage is a typical feature of many documentaries, as it adds more information from other sources that the documentary maker cannot get across himself, and it adds strength to an argument. In addition, set-up footage is another convention of the documentary genre, and in this extract, there is a classic example. When the voice over talks about meeting up with another person on the hunt for the 'Sugar man' in a coffee shop, shots on screen are edited in showing the actions of the two men meeting, as the voiceover tells the story.
Moving onwards, I will look now look at lighting in this documentary extract. In the interview scene with the music producer, light is shone on the interviewee from the side to fully highlight the facial expressions of the person being interviewed. This is typical of a documentary interview scene. However, usually a 3 point lighting system is used and this fully exposes the facial expression and emotions of your subject as well as isolates them from the background and hides unwanted shadows. The 3 point lighting system is the professional standard and it’s used by nearly all documentary film makers. Your back light creates a nice highlight around your subject’s hair, shoulders and face that help separate them from the background. The key light is the main lighting source casting directional lighting and shadows on the subject’s face and body. The last light in this setup is called the fill light. The fill light is a softer light that helps fill unsightly shadows created by the key light.
Now I will look at sound in this documentary extract. At the beginning of the extract when the man is walking around looking for his atlas, there is non-diegetic music being played as he hunts. This music is upbeat but it has a steady rhythm, and the music gives a sense of adventure; and of course this music reflects the whole journey of trying to find the atlas, and then looking on the atlas to find the possible whereabouts of the 'Sugar Man' in Dearborn, Detroit. This is typical of a conventional documentary because sound coveys emotion and then the picture on screen coveys the valuable information.
Finally I shall look at the miss-en-scene of this documentary extract. If you don't know what mise-en-scene is, its the The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing,
actors, lighting, décor, props, costume. In this documentary extract, the actors used are the actual people that are involved with the subject in question, so this aspect of mise-en-scene means that this documentary is a typical one.
Overall, this documentary extract fits in with the codes and conventions of the documentary genre, making it a strong example of a traditional documentary.
Monday, 17 November 2014
A guide to writing an excellent textual analysis!
Have you been ever stuck when it comes to putting together a textual analysis of a short film? Well with this guide, you will never be stuck again!
1. What tradition or genre is it in?
2. What are the features determining genre?
3. What other work might it be connected to?
4. Who made this? Why?
5. What can we tell about its’ creators?
6. How does it fit within the director’s other work?
a. Does it share significant narrative or thematic concerns?
b. Does it share particular visual or technical elements?
7. What is the film’s theme?
8. What is the target audience? How does it address its audience?
II. Historical and Institutional Factors-
1. What are the institutional factors that may be important?
a. as a production of a specific producer (i.e. Walt Disney), institution (Disney Studios), specific economic factors (Studio Film), or a political background? (U.S. politics 1959)
2. What is the film’s historical significance?
a. as a document of its time?
b. as a part of history of film?
III. Socio-cultural context
1. What is the film’s socio-cultural context?
c. as a work from a specific country?
d. As a work from a specific culture?
e. As a work representing a specific part of its society?
f. As a work made for a specific audience?
g. As a work made for a specific reason?
IV. Narrative
1. How is this film constructed according to narrative/story being told?
2. Is the narrative organized by plot or time sequence, or some other way?
3. Does the film use other principles than narrative sequence as a structure (for instance, an argument?
4. What is the nature of our engagement with the story or characters?
V. Film Language and Representation
1. How are characters and issues represented?
2. What is the style and effect of acting and performance?
3. How is meaning created by camera angles, shots, and camera movement?
4. How is meaning created by editing and sequencing?
5. How is meaning created by lighting, shade and color?
6. How is meaning created by sound and music?
7. How is meaning created by location and set design?
8. Does the film make use of symbols, metaphors, or allegories? Share are they and how do they work within the context of the film?
9. How is meaning created by technical elements such as production design, mise en scene, composition, special effects (matte paintings, models or animation, computer generated images….etc.)
http://understandingfilm.wikifoundry.com/page/1.+Textual+Analysis
What is a 'textual analysis'?
Textual analysis of film requires observing and questioning all the elements that create meaning within the piece, such as acting, directing, lighting, cinematography, mise en scene, etc. Besides noticing the individual elements that create a film’s meaning, textual analysis also involves understanding how the film fits into the larger context of its social, historical, cultural and political environment. So textual analysis also requires researching a film’s genre, audience as well as its historical, institutional, and socio-cultural significance. It’s only in combining both that we can create a thorough understanding of the film.
How to execute a 'textual analysis'
First of all, start by reading the question thoroughly, engraining the task in your head so you can be thinking about the question while you watch the clip; make sure you take some notes while you do this. After this, begin typing up/writing up your textual analysis and stick to this basic structure:
I. Genre and Audience-
I. Genre and Audience-
1. What tradition or genre is it in?
2. What are the features determining genre?
3. What other work might it be connected to?
4. Who made this? Why?
5. What can we tell about its’ creators?
6. How does it fit within the director’s other work?
a. Does it share significant narrative or thematic concerns?
b. Does it share particular visual or technical elements?
7. What is the film’s theme?
8. What is the target audience? How does it address its audience?
II. Historical and Institutional Factors-
1. What are the institutional factors that may be important?
a. as a production of a specific producer (i.e. Walt Disney), institution (Disney Studios), specific economic factors (Studio Film), or a political background? (U.S. politics 1959)
2. What is the film’s historical significance?
a. as a document of its time?
b. as a part of history of film?
III. Socio-cultural context
1. What is the film’s socio-cultural context?
c. as a work from a specific country?
d. As a work from a specific culture?
e. As a work representing a specific part of its society?
f. As a work made for a specific audience?
g. As a work made for a specific reason?
IV. Narrative
1. How is this film constructed according to narrative/story being told?
2. Is the narrative organized by plot or time sequence, or some other way?
3. Does the film use other principles than narrative sequence as a structure (for instance, an argument?
4. What is the nature of our engagement with the story or characters?
V. Film Language and Representation
1. How are characters and issues represented?
2. What is the style and effect of acting and performance?
3. How is meaning created by camera angles, shots, and camera movement?
4. How is meaning created by editing and sequencing?
5. How is meaning created by lighting, shade and color?
6. How is meaning created by sound and music?
7. How is meaning created by location and set design?
8. Does the film make use of symbols, metaphors, or allegories? Share are they and how do they work within the context of the film?
9. How is meaning created by technical elements such as production design, mise en scene, composition, special effects (matte paintings, models or animation, computer generated images….etc.)
http://understandingfilm.wikifoundry.com/page/1.+Textual+Analysis
Genre - Documentary (Part 3)
In this blog post on the documentary genre I will be coming up with my own idea for a short documentary film. I've had numerous ideas about documentaries but the strongest one I have is making a documentary about how the older generation view teenagers. This is quite a hot topic, as you will always hear stories about elderly people putting all teenagers in the same stereotype group, and this is group associated with disrespect and rudeness. However, I strongly believe that making a documentary about how the older generation really view the teenage generation of today would be very interesting and insightful. Too add to this, I would throw in a conflicting argument; this argument being how the teenage generation view their elders; would they say that they are being unfair?
I would shoot this documentary in a few weeks and it would include many interviews with numerous members of society. For example I would ask the head teacher of a secondary school, a retired couple, and a group of students, and I would see where they stand on the argument; this argument being that the older generation views the teenage generation as disrespectful and rude.
Potential idea?
I would shoot this documentary in a few weeks and it would include many interviews with numerous members of society. For example I would ask the head teacher of a secondary school, a retired couple, and a group of students, and I would see where they stand on the argument; this argument being that the older generation views the teenage generation as disrespectful and rude.
Potential idea?
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Genre - Documentary (Part 2)
In this post I shall look at the pros and cons of a short film in the documentary genre. Lets start with the pros shall we? The pros are that:
- You can inform the viewer with a refined amount of information within your documentary.
- Normal length documentaries can drag on and leave the viewer feeling out of touch and disengaged. This is a common problem.
- You don't have to worry about engaging the audience for such a long period of time.
- Your documentary can be short, concise and to the point.
There are some obvious downfalls of a documentary short film:
- It may be hard to fit enough information into a short documentary film to fully inform the viewing audience of all the facts they need to know to have an understanding of the topic the documentary is covering.
- It is hard to create a short documentary, as you need to fit a lot of different views and ideas into it.
Genre - Documentary (Part 1)
In this post I will be looking at the documentary genre, and going over the conventions:
- Voiceover
This is an essential part of any documentary. The voiceover will have a voice of authority, as a result encouraging the viewing audience to think that they have an in-depth knowledge of the topic the documentary is based on. In certain cases, voiceovers in documentaries have a sense of authority to ensure that the viewers take note of believe in 'the right' views being given to them. Usually voiceovers give the viewing audience a helping hand in taking on board all the information that is being shared with them in the documentary. Also, well-known and loved voiceovers from significant documentary presenters such as David Attenborough and Louis Theroux ensure that documentary audiences are fully engaged as well as fully entertained!
- 'Real footage'
You may wonder what I'm talking about but have you ever seen a documentary, for example, about the Second World War, without seeing some footage of soldiers, combat aircraft soaring through the sky, or a famous speech from Churchill? Thought not. In nearly every documentary you see about a significant event (post 1800s), it is almost guaranteed that you'll see some footage filmed by a film crew during the time or most recently some footage filmed on a mobile phone. The use of real footage always makes a documentary more engaging and a lot more real, and in some cases more harrowing.
- Archive footage and stills
In many documentaries you will have original documents and images shown to the audience to help them paint a picture of the past. This use of archive footage and stills aids the authenticity and adds further information which the film maker may be unable to obtain himself/herself.
- Interviews with experts
Imagine watching a documentary about the Manhattan project; a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. When watching this documentary you are likely to see an interview with a particle physicist that worked on the weapon or a modern day scientist that has an in depth knowledge of how the weapons were produced. These interviews with the 'experts' are used to authenticate the views expressed in the documentary. However, these interviews are used to challenge views and evidence given during the documentary, but the film makers sometimes disprove the expert views with their own evidence, making the documentary more in depth and complex, and therefore more interesting.
- Use of titles and text
This use of titles and text ensures that images are anchored in time. Too add to this, labels, dates and short text passages tend to be unquestionably taken onboard by the viewers. This is a cheap and quick way of conveying information.
- Sound
Next time you watch a documentary, listen out carefully for the use of non-diegetic music. As always certain music is used to manipulate the feelings of the viewer.
- Set ups
In some documentaries you will always have some re-enactment scenes of historical events. You will most likely see these re-enactment scenes in a documentary about a crime, or a war documentary. If are watching a documentary about the English Civil War (1642-1651), during that time period there was obviously no way of capturing the events that unfolded on film, so now in a documentary, to engage the viewing audience you would have to re-enact some scenes to allow the viewers to paint a better picture of the events of the war in their head, and they will therefore be more engaged.
- Interviews with experts
Imagine watching a documentary about the Manhattan project; a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. When watching this documentary you are likely to see an interview with a particle physicist that worked on the weapon or a modern day scientist that has an in depth knowledge of how the weapons were produced. These interviews with the 'experts' are used to authenticate the views expressed in the documentary. However, these interviews are used to challenge views and evidence given during the documentary, but the film makers sometimes disprove the expert views with their own evidence, making the documentary more in depth and complex, and therefore more interesting.
- Use of titles and text
This use of titles and text ensures that images are anchored in time. Too add to this, labels, dates and short text passages tend to be unquestionably taken onboard by the viewers. This is a cheap and quick way of conveying information.
- Sound
Next time you watch a documentary, listen out carefully for the use of non-diegetic music. As always certain music is used to manipulate the feelings of the viewer.
- Set ups
In some documentaries you will always have some re-enactment scenes of historical events. You will most likely see these re-enactment scenes in a documentary about a crime, or a war documentary. If are watching a documentary about the English Civil War (1642-1651), during that time period there was obviously no way of capturing the events that unfolded on film, so now in a documentary, to engage the viewing audience you would have to re-enact some scenes to allow the viewers to paint a better picture of the events of the war in their head, and they will therefore be more engaged.
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