New wave film brief
In our new wave film we have decided to try and incorporate
the knowledge of both Hong Kong and French new wave films to demonstrate that
we have a deeper understanding of a wide range of new wave texts. We will be taking inspiration from the French
film ‘Breathless’, the Hong Kong film ‘Chungking Express’ and maybe some
inspiration from Easy Rider for our editing.
One of the technical conventions we will be using from the
French new wave is ambient lighting, this is because it will be easy for us to
recreate and will allow us to make our own new wave film look as realistic as
possible and add a sense of verisimilitude. We will also use lighting to help
us play around with black and white colour and normal colour to show a contrast
in the mood of the two characters within the mise-en-scene.
We will also try to use double framing within the
mise-en-scene as this is a common convention in Hong Kong new wave films
particularly in the film ‘In the Mood for Love’, we will do this as it has
connotations of isolation and entrapment. We will try to recreate this using
object such as doors and windows to further enforce the entrapment.
Another way we will take inspiration from the new wave films
is by using liberation of the camera from the tripod as apart of the technical
conventions, we will us all hand held shots in order to convey a sense of
realism as many new wave films often aim to do this as they want to break away
from conventional film making and create a realistic narrative.
We will also try to use two character archetypes of a happy,
upbeat, positive character and another of a sad, isolated, cynical character to
show a contrast in the way people view love as love is a common narrative theme
in both Hong Kong and French new wave films and how it affects people
differently. We will also be adding text to the shot in the editing process to
show the characters internal dialogue. We will use jump cuts for the happy
character to represent the excitement that love brings to them and a wide angle
shot to give the connotations of the isolation love can bring to the other sad
character.
For the soundtrack we will use a mixture of both diegetic
and non diegetic sounds in particular the song ‘ New York herald tribune’ from the
film ‘Breathless’ and keep cutting between diegetic and non diegetic sound as
this is a common convention in the French new wave.
Planning.
I have decided to shoot any bits of film needed for my own new wave film on just a camera and no other equipment as majority of new wave films are recorded purely on a handheld camera in order for the text to be both experimental and convey a sense of verisimilitude which I will attempt to recreate. I will also do this as it can allow me to be true to the new wave conventions instead of going along with the rules of traditional film making. This will also allow me to create an effective postmodern text.
As well as only using a handheld camera I have chosen to only use small quotations instead of using a full scrip which I will attempt to add by translating the quotes into Chinese to be as authentic of Hong Kong new wave cinema as possible. I will also attempt to add these quotations by recording either the voice of siri or the voice of Google translate in order to create my own version of a postmodern text of a Hong Kong new wave film.
Some of the quotations I will attempt to use are;
Some of the shots I plan to get while filming are ones such as close up of clocks in order to signify the importance of time withing Hong Kong new wave films and for the audience to decode that there is a sense of time running out. I also plan to add long shots of people walking through a city / town as this is a common setting within the cinematography of Hong Kong new wave films. One of the final shots I plan to get is a point of view shot of someone walking in order for the audience to gain the gratification of personal identity as they can feel as though they are apart of the text itself.
Lastly for the soundtrack I would like to have diegetic sounds of the city such as cars, transport and other sounds often associated with the city to allow for the audience to gain the gratification of entertainment as well as gaining a sense of verisimilitude. As well as this I plan to add non diegetic drum sounds as this is a common occurrence in the soundtracks of Wong Kar Wai's films in particularly the film Fallen Angels 1995.
I also researched the weather for Coventry, where we was filming in order to plan on appropriate clothes to wear as well as equipment needed in order to protect the camera from damage such as water damage, like covering it with a plastic bag when it was raining, which it did throughout the day.
New wave film - City Waves
Evaluation of new wave film (Strengths, weaknesses, camera and lighting).
One strength of my new wave film the use of technical conventions I managed to use in my own text in particular the wide range of shot types I was able to recreate. I managed to get a bird eye view in order to add an establishing shot, long shots of people walking in the city, close ups of someones feet walking and multiple dutch angels particularly when showing a clock. This is a strength as it allows the audience to get more involved in the films as they can get a wider feel as to where the film is set and therefore gain the gratification of entertainment. Another reason that this is a strength is because it allowed me to show demonstrate my knowledge of shot types and also meant that i could demonstrate how to use certain shot types. I think that the most successful shot type however were the various dutch angles I managed to capture. A reason that I think that these shot are most successful is because they are commonly used in Wong Kar Wai's work in order to connote the feeling of disorientation people feel in the city and the audience can also decode this in my own postmodern adaptation.
Another strength of of my new wave film is the use of lighting I managed to get which consisted of both high and low key lighting. I used a range of high and low key lighting as this was used as part of the mise-en-scene in Wong Kar Wais Chungking Express. By using these lighting style I was able to encode different feelings into the film such as high key lighting when a mid shot is shown of a painting of Wonder Woman saying 'She can do it' allowing me to encode a positive powerful feel to the shot. Later on I used low key lighting when Showing an isolated section of Coventry city which allowed me to encode a hopelessness feel to my film and even a bad mood of which the people of Hong Kong felt leading to the handover.
However a weakness of my film is the extremely fast paced editing during the middle of the train journey and the pumpkin due to the fact that it may be little too fast. Although many films in the Hong Kong new wave use fast paced editing my own may be too much that could disorientate the viewer meaning that they may struggle to gain the gratification of entertainment. If I was to recreate this I would slow down parts of the editing to allow for the film to flow more smoothly allowing the audience to not be as confused by the film and understand what is happening within in.
Another weakness of the film is that I was unable to recreate the double framing which is a iconic part of In the Mood for Love's cinematography. This was a weakness as it meant that I was unable to encode the feeling of isolation an entrapment within the film which is often a common narrative theme in the Hong Kong new wave. If I was to recreate this I would try and make better use of doors and windows in the mise-en-scene to further encode the feeling of being trapped.
A final strength of my new wave film is that I was able to show a range of depth of field from shallow to deep. I was able to do this by adjusting the aperture and F scale. By changing the aperture to being low with a low f scale allowed for a shallow depth of field when showing a close up of the pumpkins hat. By making the aperture higher I was able to capture a deep depth of field particularly when walking through the city and long shots of others walking in the city. This was a strength as it allowed me to demonstrate a deeper understanding of camera techniques.
Planning.
I have decided to shoot any bits of film needed for my own new wave film on just a camera and no other equipment as majority of new wave films are recorded purely on a handheld camera in order for the text to be both experimental and convey a sense of verisimilitude which I will attempt to recreate. I will also do this as it can allow me to be true to the new wave conventions instead of going along with the rules of traditional film making. This will also allow me to create an effective postmodern text.
As well as only using a handheld camera I have chosen to only use small quotations instead of using a full scrip which I will attempt to add by translating the quotes into Chinese to be as authentic of Hong Kong new wave cinema as possible. I will also attempt to add these quotations by recording either the voice of siri or the voice of Google translate in order to create my own version of a postmodern text of a Hong Kong new wave film.
Some of the quotations I will attempt to use are;
- "Embrace the void and have the courage to exist"
- "We were strangers when we met and we were strangers when you left"
- "Time is running out, time is expiring"
- "Why must thing end, why must things expire?"
- "The city feels like a dark blur in the underbelly"
- "I no longer walk with you but I'm always reminded of the past"
I have decided to try and use quotations such as these as many of the narrative themes in the Hong Kong new wave revolve around meeting strangers, time, specifically time expiring and of characters constantly being reminded of the past.
Some of the shots I plan to get while filming are ones such as close up of clocks in order to signify the importance of time withing Hong Kong new wave films and for the audience to decode that there is a sense of time running out. I also plan to add long shots of people walking through a city / town as this is a common setting within the cinematography of Hong Kong new wave films. One of the final shots I plan to get is a point of view shot of someone walking in order for the audience to gain the gratification of personal identity as they can feel as though they are apart of the text itself.
Lastly for the soundtrack I would like to have diegetic sounds of the city such as cars, transport and other sounds often associated with the city to allow for the audience to gain the gratification of entertainment as well as gaining a sense of verisimilitude. As well as this I plan to add non diegetic drum sounds as this is a common occurrence in the soundtracks of Wong Kar Wai's films in particularly the film Fallen Angels 1995.
I also researched the weather for Coventry, where we was filming in order to plan on appropriate clothes to wear as well as equipment needed in order to protect the camera from damage such as water damage, like covering it with a plastic bag when it was raining, which it did throughout the day.
New wave film - City Waves
Evaluation of new wave film (Strengths, weaknesses, camera and lighting).
One strength of my new wave film the use of technical conventions I managed to use in my own text in particular the wide range of shot types I was able to recreate. I managed to get a bird eye view in order to add an establishing shot, long shots of people walking in the city, close ups of someones feet walking and multiple dutch angels particularly when showing a clock. This is a strength as it allows the audience to get more involved in the films as they can get a wider feel as to where the film is set and therefore gain the gratification of entertainment. Another reason that this is a strength is because it allowed me to show demonstrate my knowledge of shot types and also meant that i could demonstrate how to use certain shot types. I think that the most successful shot type however were the various dutch angles I managed to capture. A reason that I think that these shot are most successful is because they are commonly used in Wong Kar Wai's work in order to connote the feeling of disorientation people feel in the city and the audience can also decode this in my own postmodern adaptation.
Another strength of of my new wave film is the use of lighting I managed to get which consisted of both high and low key lighting. I used a range of high and low key lighting as this was used as part of the mise-en-scene in Wong Kar Wais Chungking Express. By using these lighting style I was able to encode different feelings into the film such as high key lighting when a mid shot is shown of a painting of Wonder Woman saying 'She can do it' allowing me to encode a positive powerful feel to the shot. Later on I used low key lighting when Showing an isolated section of Coventry city which allowed me to encode a hopelessness feel to my film and even a bad mood of which the people of Hong Kong felt leading to the handover.
However a weakness of my film is the extremely fast paced editing during the middle of the train journey and the pumpkin due to the fact that it may be little too fast. Although many films in the Hong Kong new wave use fast paced editing my own may be too much that could disorientate the viewer meaning that they may struggle to gain the gratification of entertainment. If I was to recreate this I would slow down parts of the editing to allow for the film to flow more smoothly allowing the audience to not be as confused by the film and understand what is happening within in.
Another weakness of the film is that I was unable to recreate the double framing which is a iconic part of In the Mood for Love's cinematography. This was a weakness as it meant that I was unable to encode the feeling of isolation an entrapment within the film which is often a common narrative theme in the Hong Kong new wave. If I was to recreate this I would try and make better use of doors and windows in the mise-en-scene to further encode the feeling of being trapped.
A final strength of my new wave film is that I was able to show a range of depth of field from shallow to deep. I was able to do this by adjusting the aperture and F scale. By changing the aperture to being low with a low f scale allowed for a shallow depth of field when showing a close up of the pumpkins hat. By making the aperture higher I was able to capture a deep depth of field particularly when walking through the city and long shots of others walking in the city. This was a strength as it allowed me to demonstrate a deeper understanding of camera techniques.
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