The Collision

Lev Kuleshov was a Russian director born on January 1st 1899. He was most famous for his editing technique which is known as the 'Kuleshov effect.' He wasn't the first to use such editing technique as ones such as 'crosscutting' had been used in Hollywood before him. He was the first one that used it in Soviet Russia.

When we began to compare the typically American, typically European, and typically Russian films, we noticed that they were distinctly different from one another in their construction. We noticed that in a particular sequence of a Russian film there were, say, ten to fifteen splices, ten to fifteen different set-ups. In the European film there might be twenty to thirty such set-ups, while in the American film there would be from eighty, sometimes upward to a hundred, separate shots. The American films took first place in eliciting reactions from the audience; European films took second; and the Russian films, third. We became particularly intrigued by this, but in the beginning we did not understand it. - Lev Kuleshov

In this quote Kuleshov states how the Russian films are a lot different from other Europeans ones and American ones. This is because of the way that they are set up to the shot is a lot differently and the process they go through is different.

The original work for the 'Kuleshov effect' 

The Kuleshov effect 

The effect is a documented part of film-making where by putting a film together, using three different situations but only using one reaction which is the same each time. The audience praised the acting for showing hunger, grief and lust not knowing that the reaction is the exact same each time. The reaction shots were to a dead women, a women on a recliner and a plate of soup; three entirely different situations. By using this editing technique it creates a meaning that the audience wouldn't have thought of before, which is a way of constructing the sentences. This way the audience doesn't realise that their reaction is in their own mind they just think it's down to the actors subtly not realising that they are being affected by the same reaction in the scene. The impact of Kuleshov's work was the audience not understanding that they are being manipulated and tricked as the emotion in the scene is heightened in a number of different ways even though the expression never changes.

All art is emotion, and that the task of the filmmaker is to use the tools of his medium to manipulate the audience’s emotional experience - Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock here states that it is all in the eye of the filmmaker the reason why the audience feels certain emotions is because it is the way the filmmaker plays them to believe or not believe something. Therefore tricking and playing with the audiences emotion. 

The expression never changes.

It is questionable whether the Kuleshov effect can actually control other people's feelings. As discussed by psychologists, people will bring their own opinions and emotions to what they see. The audiences will classify and mis-classify certain faces. This is because a neutral face can either look happy or sad with fear either about anger and confusion. 

The reactions weren't as diverse as Kuleshov thought they would have been with the audience realising that he was actually in love with the women and he didn't just lust over her. This is because at no times does the actor look bored with the audience as some audiences might need more context to understand the look that the actor is trying to give. The intense emotion that is a given shows no sign of being a negative emotion. Which makes the audience be able to give a more specific emotion once they are aware of the object. 

Documentaries take basically unrelated footage and juxtapose it in order to give the viewer the idea the filmmaker wants to convey. They take footage of birds snapping a twig. They take footage of a fawn raising his head. The two shots have nothing to do with each other. They were shot days or years, and miles, apart. And the filmmaker juxtaposes the images to give the viewer the idea of great alertness. The shots have nothing to do with each other. They are not a record of what the protagonist did. They are not a record of how the deer reacted to the bird. They’re basically uninflected images. But they give the viewer the idea of alertness to danger when they are juxtaposed. That’s good filmmaking. - On Directing Film by David Mamet 

Again like Hitchcock said, David Mamet says how the film maker does certain things in order to tell the story in the way that they want it to.

One of the most famous examples of the Kuleshov effect

 is in the video 'Hitchcock Loves Bikini's'

I think that this editing technique is a really clever one to use which in a way makes the audience think deeply about what they are watching, this is important because then the audience feels as though they are part of the storyline and the actor makes them feel involved. It's also exploiting the audience because they are making them believe that they must act a certain way when they react to the scene. Although this effect worked very well to start with in today's society it's harder to trick the audience now because they know the techniques well and how to deal with it. While during the late 1920's the Kuleshov effect become very popular with directors such as Sergei Eisenstein,Vsevolod Pudovkin and Dziga Vertov which featured in films such as  The Battleship Potemkin, October, Mother and The End of St. Petersburg.

Evalution of our Kuleshov Effect

In our film the shots we filmed were of money failing from air, a girl getting punched and a conversation between three of the actors pointing and laughing at the camera. We had an idea for each of the shots that they would have different perceptions. In the money shot we thought that the idea that the audience get would be that they would either think that they were going to steal the money because they desperately needed it or because it was their money. In the punching shot it was the idea that she did something wrong or that she person is a bully. Finally in the gossip shot they were laughing at the actor or the actor just wanted to know what they were laughing at. 

My edit of our view for the 'Kuleshov effect' 

The audience reaction to the actor was that in the first shot that the actor was going to steal the money because there was money there that could have just been grabbed. In the second shot the audience reaction was that she was emotionless because she just stood there and made me no reaction while someone was getting punched. In the final shot the audience reaction was that she was too scared to do anything and they saw her as a wimp. In each of these shots she is being perceived as a completely different person even though it's the same shot each time. This is down to the editing of how I made the actor come across in each of the different scenarios. 

http://www.openculture.com/2012/05/alfred_hitchcock_on_the_essential_filmmakers_tool_the_great_kuleshov_effect.html - 6th November

http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/04/hitchcock-and-kuleshov-effect/  - 6th November

http://io9.com/5960035/can-the-kuleshov-effect-really-control-your-perception-of-other-peoples-feelings - 6th November

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474487/bio - 6th November

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KuleshovEffect - 6th November

http://kubrickfilms.tripod.com/id21.html - 6th November

The Swish Blog

In film there is a lot of different transitions that can be used. Transitions are important because they make the audience react differently to each of them as they are used as a way of passing time and making it feel like there has been a long time between each of the scenes. Another reason for using film transitions is to convey to the audience of a certain tone or mood. This is essentially important for when it comes to horror movies as they need a certain mood to scare the audience.

The most simple transition is a straight cut which is a where one scene ends and the second scene starts. This transition is important if the scene beforehand is just a filler scene. This type of transition doesn't have much of an effect on the audience because of how simple it is.

A very common transition that is used is the contrast cut where editing a juxtapose of two contrast subjects, for example in the first scene everything is really quiet while in the second scene there is a loud band, this makes for a very intense transition which can sometimes scare the audience, this can only be used through this type of transition and not a gradual transition. The most famous contrast cut is used in The Godfather - The Baptism Murders Scene in this scene the first shot is of the baptism that is taken place where it is all quiet and calm in the next moment the next scene is of the murder shot with loud sounds and bangs using guns.

A match cut is another one which is very common to filmmakers however this has a different reason, this transition is used to hide the transition from the audience this is because the character is covering the camera as they know the cut has happened but they are away of when this happened. Hiding it away from the audience makes them unaware of how it's been done. An example of this is in 'A Space Odyssey' in 2001 where the first shot is of a Gorilla throwing a bone while the second shot is of the bone up in the air.

Finally a fade in/out shot is used either at the start or the end. At the beginning of a film where it cuts to black usually before the title while the fade out occurs before the credits at the end of the scene. The reason why this is used is to highlight that the credits are soon to come. An example of using the fade in is in this opening sequence of 'Six Feet Under.' This is because although they fade to black many times during this sequence they also fade to white, which is something that is really different at unique.

For my version of the Swish blog. I worked with my colleagues Lauren Walke and Olivia Searle. The idea for it was that I would jump and then I would land in different parts of the building. It was quite hard to get the timing right. I think that the timing was the most important thing when it came to this project. The reason for this is because if the timing was off the whole thing would look odd. I think that we kept to a really simple idea that worked effectively because we could edit it to the way we wanted to. 

When it came to the editing all we I had to was cut and razor away some of the clips, the clips were all in order so the only thing that I had to do was make sure that the timing was ok. I think this was one of my most successful projects. It was a good idea to use a simple idea. In the background I used the song 'Jump' I used this because I think it would well with the idea of me jumping. 

Jump - Swish Blog

I really liked this project because although it was simple it worked really effectively. I think that if I were going to do it again I would jump in some other places and maybe do it outdoors so it looked like we had gone further than just in the college. I would try and keep some of the original wild track in it next time because I think that a video like this would look better with more original music than a song. Although the song does work well with the purpose of the video. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_transition -6th November

http://mentalfloss.com/article/21028/5-film-transitions-worth-knowing -6th November

http://www.avclub.com/articles/a-love-once-new-has-now-grown-old-24-memorable-cin,59719/ -6th November

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zs61pakiIY -6th November

The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room is a project in which time has been distorted. This is where time is a ticking time bomb. This is mostly used in live TV or when something big is going to happen, eg. a fight off. The reason for this is because it is tension building as it adds to the drama. In live TV the most common time it is used is on the X Factor when Dermot is about the results of the winner. The tension is build up because of the pause in between him saying 'The winner of X Factor is' and the name of the act. In this pause the camera does a close up on the two acts and their judges and then an extreme wide angle of the audience and the whole stage. This shot is used to show the reaction of everybody in the room. In this part it seems as though it is going on forever because of the tension felt.

Little Mix announced the winner of X Factor 2011.

A lot of television programmes they use time lapse photography more than films. The most common type of television programme this is shown in is DIY programmes such as Grand Designs and DIY SOS this is to show over time how the house gets changed in the space of a one hour show. The time lapse shows the process quickly this way it feels as though real time has been sped up. Unlike when the scenes are slowed down time seems to be taking forever while in this time is going really fast because the scene is been shown over a quick period of time. Although this doesn't create any tension, it just saves the audience from becoming bored too quickly. 

The time affects the audience because the tension is building in the scenes that are drawn out and it feels as though the scenes are going on forever even though the scenes only last for a few seconds. While when time speeds up the scenes feel really short. 

For this project I worked with my colleagues Katie Patrick, Jade Popham and Jodi Smith. 

In our video we had to distort time, the way in which this was done was through conveying an atmosphere in which we had to build tension. The way in which we did it was through creating a story line that people will believe and be able to tell it. The way that this is able to be done is by creating a back story for the character. This is important so that it seems more believable. The actual back story wasn't very hard to create we decided to do something which is used almost every day. She sends a text message and is waiting for a reply however it is the importance of the text message as she has found out she is pregnant, only to find out that the number she has been texting has been cut off. 

This is our video

I think that the music in this video is very important, because at the start the music I decided to use is just one with people's voices talking in the background. I decided to use this because I thought it would show how she is in a everyday environment she is waiting for this text as though it is the most important thing in the world and could potentially change her life while everybody else is going about doing their everyday things. As the video goes on I added a heartbeat over the top, I decided to use a heartbeat because she is anxious and worried therefore the heartbeat shows that she has been waiting a while for this to happen, although in real time it hasn't actually been that long. Then at the end the music speeds up as she receives the text this is to build up the suspense. It is important for this because this is what the video has been building up to therefore it needs to come to some sort of climax. 

I think that in films one of the most important aspects is time and therefore I think that by slowing down time the audience gets the same feelings of anxiousness as the actor, this helps the audience to relate to the film. 

Practicing Funky Skills 

 

This was our practice over head plan. In this we had to measure out how far each of these would be away from each other. It took quite a long time to work out how far each camera and lights would be away. This was the first time we had to take everything into consideration. In think that this was important to do because in this we realised how much other things directors have to take into consideration. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fCimjFW4kA - First video used - little mix announced winners - 27th October 2013

The Lone Ranger - Evaluation

In this production we learnt about the protagonist and his/her relationship with their environment. A protagonist can be either male or female. They are the main character and the one that you route for in the film, on a lot of occasions they are the hero/heroin.

In class the two we watched were A Fistful of Dollars and The Abandoned. A Fistful of Dollars starred Clint Eastwood there were a number of extreme close ups and one extreme long shot. The variety of shots used was important to show the setting but to also show that he was the protagonist. The way that we know that he is the protagonist is because right from the start he is seen as the hero. The Abandoned is a horror film and in this the protagonist is a women, this is unusual because usually a protagonist is a man. We know that the women is the protagonist because in nearly every shot they focus on her and in the ones where they don't focus on her, it comes from her point of view.

The scene we watched from A Fist Full of Dollars. 

In this project I worked with my colleagues Olivia Searle, Scott Friday, Jodi Smith and Lauren Walke. 

In our production I played the protagonist. Our production had to be 20 shots, so we thought up our production and wrote down what would happen in each of the shots then added the camera angle next to them. Finally in our planning process all of us drew five shots in the storyboard, this was to show that we knew everything that we were doing in the scene.

Our scene is a horror film, it's where I the protagonist gets chased by a white mask. The mask appears at the start and it's chasing me. I then manage to get away from the mask by running up the stairs and into a corridor, I then try and open three different doors until I finally open the correct one. I am then inside a black room where the mask is bashing on the door to which I run over slam the open shut and slide down against it only for the mask to appear in the final scene above me.

Our list of shots and storyboard. 

I think that the location for this shot was very important, the extreme long shot which we shot outside needed to have a long path which it did as I was running the width of it. It was also important that we shot somewhere which had a door handle therefore I could struggle to open the door. Finally we needed a corridor where there was a lot of rooms in a really compact space. Therefore we used one of the corridors which had a number of locked rooms in.

I think that the character adds an important element to the scene, I think that without the protagonist then this film would be pointless because there is nobody that you are routing for. In our production as the protagonist, the audience would be routing for me because I am the one that they want to succeed and in this case survive. In any horror or dramatic scene it is especially important for a main character but definitely in ours as we are following what the main character is doing.

I got rid of all the dialogue, this wasn't originally the plan but I felt as though the voices weren't as good as I wanted them to be therefore I found a voice over of a distressed girl crying and decided to use that. I also put in two horror tracks in the fact, these tracks create tension and build the scene up especially with the way that they are in time with the movements.

For a lot of the shots the camera was at an angle to me, we did this because we felt as though it looked more professional than having the camera straight on, this way you could get the side profile along with the front. I think that it was important to have the camera at different angle's to show the expression on the faces. In this production the most important aspect was having the protagonist connect with the environment that they're in and for this reason the camera wasn't always needed face on.

We begun the first scene with an extreme close up on my eyes, this is so that we knew who the protagonist was. It is always important to have the protagonist in the first shot so that you are able to identify them right from the start. Our last scene ended with the mask looking as though he was standing over me, this was because it looked as though he had killed me, which was the point in this video as it was a horror.

As the protagonist; she is feeling scared, worried and wanting to get away from the mask. I think that it was important in the scenes that this was shown. Some of the shots are in very enclosed spaces this way it shows the vulnerability of the protagonist. These shots were filmed to show that the mask was getting closer to her, as the camera was. It was filmed like this as it felt like she was being chased by the mask when it was actually the camera.

This is our video

The impact of the extreme close ups was to show the emotion and the panic on the protagonist face, this was to show the amount of pain she was in and the pain and torture that the mask was giving her. The impact of the extreme long shot was that she was running away from him, the camera stayed where it was as it was to make it look as though it was actually the mask. A couple of things changed as we went around this was because of the lack of space which we had, we also adapted some of our ideas to fit what we were doing a lot more than before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ_7br_3y54 - A Fist Full of Dollars - 21st October 2013

Evaluation - One Shot

This video was a homage to She Wants by Metronomy. This is where the whole video revolved around one character and would follow them around. Everyone else had the task of producing their own moment of magic to appear at some point. We had to elect a main character, directors, a camera-person and assistant and a floor manager. On the first day of the production we had to think of our moments of magic in our groups. I thought of the idea to have sunglasses on the back of the head to make it look as though the back of the head was the face. We would then have to walk down backwards down the stairs like this. I liked this idea because it was something simple but I think it would have been effective. We weren't sure of the location of the shot but we felt like it would be best done near some steps so we could walk down. I think that it was appropriate because in the original video for Metronomy they had something very similar to this. The only extra thing that we needed for this was a pair of sunglasses and a jacket that could be done up backwards.

Behind the scenes photographs.

Day two was our filming day we brought in all the things that we needed to shoot. The directors spoke to us and told us about the ideas and what was going to happen. The idea was that one of my colleagues Jade Popham would have just woken up from a dream and her dream involved all of these people. Some of the ideas got changed mine included, which didn't bother me. Two others had the same idea with the sunglasses, so I gave them my ideas and went with the idea that a couple others had which was to dress up as a skull. We had to face paint the skull faces onto our face. We then stood at the bottom of the steps and stood against the door and we were going to open the door with our backs and then Jade would walk past us and we would be behind her with two of my other colleagues Katie Patrick and Olivia Searle following behind again. We practiced this part multiple times to make sure that we had it right for the final production shot. We had a second moment of magic where all of us were together. At the start we were all in a semi circle in the ceramics room as Jade walked in and we would each turn to stare at the camera as it went around. Then after the camera had past us we would run into our positions in two parallel lines, in front and behind the table as Jade was sat at the end of the table, each of us then had confetti or balloons to let go and throw in the final scene. We ran through the one shot three times with the camera for the practice run before we did an final shoot on Tuesday afternoon. 

I think that a lot of things went well in this project but what I think worked well the most was every-bodies separate ideas, I think that this was because everybody had there own unique little thing which worked out really well. I liked the idea that every part of it was unique as it was fun to come up with the ideas of what to do. I also loved it at the end when we all came together and we had two parallel lines, this part worked out really well because there was so many people and it felt right only to all come together at the end. There wasn't much that didn't work well, I think that filming around college and finding the different locations was the most challenging part because wherever we went there was people which made it harder for us. Although I think that the floor manager did a good job of clearing everything out of the way so we didn't have many interruptions, this was especially important in our final run through. 

Our Video

I think that we worked really well as a team, I think that the directors were great and managed to give us a clear understanding of what we had to do. It was really important that everybody listened and took note as to what they were saying because the most important aspect of a one shot is the timing and if we didn't get the timing right then the whole video would fail because someone wasn't paying attention. I think that we all worked well together because everybody had there own individual sequence which meant that everybody had a focus and they knew what they were doing for their part. Therefore I think every-bodies part was effective in the process. Personally the only thing I think that I could do better next time is to come up with some new ideas this way I could have numerous ideas to play around with and change. 

As this was my first time in a production team I feel like it worked out really well this is because I felt like we weren't being bossed around we were just told to expand our ideas which I think was really important, this way it caused no arguments. I think that the production team was very successful and their main idea was really great fun and creative. I think that this assignment gave me a lot more confident with coming up with ideas, as to start with I did struggle for ideas that I could use. I also think that this was my strongest editing piece so far and therefore I think that because of this production my editing skills have improved a lot. 

I don't think that there is anything that we could do next time to make it better as I think it turned out really great and therefore I think that it would be pointless to change something which came out as good as it did. Although if I were to do it again I think that it would be important to come up with new ideas that we could play around with. 

Flip Teach - One Shot

In 1990 Martin Scorsese and Michael Ballhaus directed the 'Copa Sequence' in Goodfellas. It is my favourite one shot. I really like this shot because I like the way the camera follows them through in close proximity. This scene feels very intimate yet there is people around them and the camera is following them closely this is because of the location of the shot. I also like the way they go through a busy kitchen and the camera is following them and never draws away from them even in the hectic circumstances.

A lot of consideration went into this shot but the main problem was them being able to find out if they could actually shoot it where they wanted to. They came up with the location and then they looked to see if it was actually possible to shoot there. Although the actors had no clue as to what was happening, considering at this point that hardly anybody had even heard of a steady cam. The biggest problem of this was getting the actors right because the directors wanted to make sure that every single timing was perfect.

Shots from the hardest scene to shoot; the kitchen scene. 

I think that the most difficult part of this scene was when they were walking through the busy kitchen. This is because there was a lot of actors which could have caused some problems if one of them got in the way or if they got their timing off. It was important in all of the scene and especially this one that they got there timing right, therefore the actors had to pay extra attention to the directors in the shot to know when they had to come in. In this scene the camera is a bit further away from them than it would have been in the previous scene this is done so that if timings were a bit off it wouldn't affect them as much.

As a director the most important thing to worry about in a shot like this is whether the actors know when they need to come in. The director would have to speak to all of the actors involved and make sure that they knew when it was their cue. This shot would have been done a few times before in practice they would have used the camera some of the times to make sure that everything that needed to be in the scene fitted. The director would have also had to practice just to make sure everything was good with the actors. The thing that the directors would have to plan is the route the camera is going to take, this is because the route that they originally want to make might not be feasible due to the lack of space. This would have been especially important in this shot because of how enclosed the shot was. Therefore knowing the route and making sure the actors know their timings are the most important aspects of this shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBMKyNJvNV8 - 13th October 2013

‘She Wants’ by Metronomy

Metronomy as always are really creative when it comes to their music videos, they always make sure that they are standing out from the ordinary and trying to process new ideas. This video was made by Jul and Mat. I particularly like this video because it's something simple, it's at a house party but there are little moments of magic that make the video stand out from others like it.

She Wants by Metronomy.

The first thing I noticed was the feathers coming off her body, this would only be made possible if it was edited backwards. The next moment was when she got out of bed and a girl was standing there and she then pushed her onto the floor. The clock movement reflects on the beats of the music, it stops when it hits a heavier beat and then continues when the softer music kicks in again. While in the scene in the bar everything was considered normal apart from the women who had another pair of eyes on her forehead which is considered slightly abnormal. As she is walking through there is a girl with the tattoo 'You're Dreaming Deep Tonight' which is mirroring the lyrics of the song. They then again mirror the lyrics again with the word 'light' which is written on the floor with string. The editing is then backwards again with the Jenga cubes falling over as this would have been physically impossible to do in normal time, also at this part we see double of the two people playing Jenga. The next moment of magic is when all of the people fall over in the domino effect, I really like this part because of how accurate the timing had to be, it was pulled off very well. Finally in the last scene the girl who was pushed over in the first scene is back again and this time is doing the pushing. This entire scene is a polar opposite to the first scene with the girl landing back on the bed and having the feathers fall on her also the fan is the last thing we see. This is contrasting as it's also the first thing we see, this shows the pattern of the music video.

Jul & Mat are music video directors, the style that they like is through high impact light images, which is shown in 'She Wants' as there is a lot of whiteness throughout the video. They are also all about changing the simple things in videos; faces - so that they are slightly unordinary, animated toys, pieces of paper and changing clothes so that that fit the idea for the certain video. They also believe in using reality and post production which is seen a lot. In there videos they use a lot of people, so filming in big groups is showing the reality but adapting these ideas is the post production.

Along with She Wants they also produced On The Motorway for Metronomy. 

In the 'Making Of' video of this it shows just how much effort went into this video. There is a lot more behind the scenes work to be done than many can think. There was a lot of drawing, sewing and gluing to make this video look effective. I think that due to the vast number of people included in this that is the reason as to why it was so successful. I think that the Jul & Mat took full advantage of the creative freedom they had and worked with it. I think that from looking at the Making Of video it shows just how hard it would have been putting people in different positions and making sure that every shot was in the correct time. I think it was made through the ideas of many people with individuals coming up with little moves that they could do in order for it to be successful. 

I really like this video and I think that it's done really well. My favourite thing about this video is that everybody is doing something different, this is very unusual because a lot of the time a lot of the actors would be doing the same as the rest. I think that it would have taken a lot of time and effort to get this into one shot with planning being essential for this because without this people wouldn't of known when they would have to be in shot as there was only one time to get it right. I think that in this type of technique the actors have just as important role as the director because if their timing is off then there is nothing that the director is able to do. 

http://flavorwire.com/309086/10-amazing-unbroken-shots-in-film/3/ - 9th October

https://vimeo.com/19133341 - 9th October

http://www.juletmat.fr/about.html - 9th October

Reading and Analysis Test

Funky Skills

Following Texts http://www.steadishots.org/shots_detail.cfm?shotID=298 & http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/touch-of-evil/ and answer the questions.

1. Which emblematic scene will the film Atonement be remembered for? 

Dunkirk. 

2. How was the toughest shot of the film achieved?

It was rehearsed for many hours, with and without camera. They also followed every beat, twist & turn and followed the actors every moment. 

3. What was the main aim of the Dunkirk scene? 

The aim for the scene was that it would be a one-take Steadicam move. 

4. When was Touch of Evil released?

1958. 

5. What did Orson Welles want to include in the film? 

He wanted to include 6 minutes of film. 

6. Compare the purpose of each text?

Text 1 - Inform & evaluating - to an extent.

Text 2 - Review, inform & evaluate - personal views brought into it. 

7. What is the audience of each text? Are there any clues from the texts? 

Text 1 - Professionals in the media industry - language used and technical terms.

Text 2 - Less technical aimed at film enthusiasts. 

8. Compare form of texts 1 & 2? 

Text 1 - Subheadings in paragraphs helps breaks it up and tells you what's in each of the paragraphs are about. Links to other parts of the texts - for more information the summary in the text box - overview before you read the rest.

Text 2 -  Has a clip at the end, an image of the fun showing 1958 version, summarised information at the top - not as informative as not as many subheadings.  

Critique of a scene - Glee The Break Up

Glee is an American musical comedy drama television series which is written by Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk. In all of the scenes in Glee they use single camera techniques this is because of the location of their shoots. This scene is called the break up scene. In this scene Rachel played by Lea Michele breaks up with Finn who was played by Cory Monteith. Rachel breaks up with Finn after he is drafted into the army and goes missing for four months. In this scene they have an argument about Rachel living in New York and following her dreams of being on Broadway while Finn says that his life has no direction and is stuck living in Ohio. The reason for this is because he had been kicked out of the army and doesn't have a college to go to. Also in this scene they talk about how Rachel has a new boyfriend who is a Broadway star and is the complete opposite to Finn. This is one of my favourite scenes because of how intense it is, there is a lot of emotions in this scene and I think that the two actors do well in capturing them.

In this scene there isn't a lot of different camera angles this is because they are mostly close ups. But the camera does change it now and again to get a point of view shot this is so that we can see how that character feels in that particular moment. There is also an over the shoulder shot this just shows the back of Finn's back while Rachel is still talking to him, this is used as a way of showing his body language. There is an extreme wide angle this is used to show the positioning of the characters, this angle is used to show their body language which shows how mad each of the characters are. In this wide angle you see that they are in the dark auditorium. The colour that they are wearing matches with the scenery as everything in the scene is back, this suggests that this is going to be quite an emotional scene. The wide angle also shows Rachel walking closer to Finn. There is a panning shot where Rachel runs towards Finn and the camera, this shot is used along with her talking and body language it just shows how mad she is. It ends with an extreme close up of Rachel's face, then an extreme wide angle of them together. The wide angle is used to show how intimate the scene is and finally an over the shoulder shot where Rachel is walking off. 

Images from the scene

The sequence of this shot is very important because the camera switches between both of the characters, this is done to show how each of them is feeling, the camera focuses a lot more on Rachel than it does on Finn because she is doing most of the talking. It focuses on Finn when he is talking or Rachel is asking him a rhetorical question and is making him feel guilty. The sequence is important because at the start the shots are a lot faster because of the intensity of it but after they get into the scene and the argument calms down the shots are a lot slower this is to reflect the mood of the characters. 

The music in the scene is really soft and gentle this is because the voices are intense and there is a lot of screaming. Unless you listen carefully you will miss the sound of the music because of the calmness of it compared to the voices. The main focus in this scene is the dialogue this is because it is the most important part of this scene. The music stops in places when the conversation gets louder as the music would be too overpowering but when there is no talking the music gets louder, this is so that the actors don't have to speak throughout the scene. At the end the music gets louder as they stop talking, there is no special effects. 

Compared to the other scenes where the editing started off as slow in this scene the editing starts off as fast this is because of the emotion in this scene. In this scene there is mostly cut shots where they go straight back to the other actor to see their facial expressions. Although there is an L cut show at the end to cut back after they kiss, this is used to show everything behind them. 

This scene was incredibly hard for both of the actors to shoot because of how emotionally draining it was because of the amount of crying and screaming in the scene. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avk_MZ2Fi1Y - 13th October

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glee_(TV_series) -13th October

http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2012/10/22/lea-michele-dishes-on-rachel-finn-breakup/ - 13th October

Critique of a scene - Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

Perks of Being A Wallflower is a novel by Stephen Chbosky it was made into a film in Septemberr 2012. Stephen directed it and was produced by Russell Smith, Lianne Halfon and John Malkovich. In this film they use single camera techniques because most of their shoots are outside and not on location shots. In this scene Charlie played by Logan Lerman has a mental breakdown. It starts off with him walking to the place where he last was with his Aunt before she got killed. It then goes into a flashback of his last time with his aunt, he is then seen crying looking distressed as he walks closer to where he was with her at this time there is two of him. Then there is another flash back with his Aunt and then it goes back to real age Charlie walking forward but now there are three of him. He then walks into his house and has another flash back of his Aunt in the car crash, then again back to real time where we see photos of the family together. The scene speeds up with Charlie having an anxiety attack with him whispering as the photos are viewed. Then there is a flashback to when the family is told his Aunt is dead he then runs to his room where he is whispering and crying. Flashbacks are then show from when he was younger and recently. He then blacks out.

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1533181

Charlie's Breakdown Scene. 

In this scene there is about 50 shots in total. There is a lot in this scene compared to the others because this is a longer scene as this scene is 1.43 minutes. The reason for this scene being so long is because it's the most important scene in the film because every other scene in the film builds up to this moment. The first angle is a extreme wide angle this is because Charlie isn't initially in the shot  however a few seconds later in the distance he appears. The majority of the flashbacks are medium close ups, with most of them being two shots this is because they are mostly of Charlie and his Aunt. This is so that you see it up close what is happening but you also see where they are. The location is very important in this scene because Charlie returns to where his flashback was. Charlie is seen walking to the camera in a long shot this is to show his whole body and the area. The camera is looking at him from a slight angle this is so he seems more in control than he actually is, the reason for this is because during this shot he is actually crying. There are a few long shots one where there is two of him and one where there is three of him this is to show that he is going crazy. In the last shot he seems in control of the scene but in the next shot he is seen as inferior because it's a birds eye view and he looks small and vulnerable. Yet again there is another flashback which is a close up on his Aunt in the car crash and then a panning shot to all of her photos which then transits into a close up. There is then a over the shoulder the shot where the police are talking to Charlie's mum, this shot is used to shown Charlie's feelings. Finally there is a series of flashbacks which are all medium close ups. The shots have a variety of lengths with at the start the shots last for about 5-6 seconds but at the end each shots speeds up as the adrenaline gets more intensive.

Some of the camera angles from the scene. 

The sequence of the shots in this scene is very important because each shot implies how the character is feeling. The slower shots are at the start because Charlie's feeling aren't that strong but as the scene goes on it speeds up as Charlie's breathing speeds up so does the sequences which starts with the flashbacks from the furthest time ago and then gets to the nearest ones.

The music is played throughout and it's very dramatic and tension building, at the start the music is very slow, with voices speaking over when the flashbacks happens. The majority of this scene is a mix of music and vocals. The only time that sound effects happen is when his Aunt get crashed into this is because the tension has built up for this event. After the car crash the music continues and once the door slams the music speeds up by getting more and more intensive as Charlie whispers above the music, the music gets quieter as he gets louder then the music reaching it's peak of intensity as the scene blacks out.

The editing of the shots differs from the beginning of the scene to the end of the scene. At the start the editing between the shots is done really slowly this is because by the end we can see how much faster the editing has gotten.There aren't that many cut shots, with the majority of the shots being straight cuts this is because they are going straight from one shot to another. Although there is a lot of contrast cuts from where the flashbacks have taken place as it goes from flashback to real life as he is imagining it. After the crash there is a wipe cut which shows the aftermath of the crash where it shows all of the photos. There is a couple of L cuts where the sounds appears before the actual shot this is mainly when Charlie is whispering but you cant actually see him in the scene because it is a series of flashbacks. Finally the last cut is a fade out as Charlie blacks out the scene ends.

This scene was incredibly have to shoot for the actors because of the amount of shots taken this is because in this scene the editing is the most important part because of the amount of flashbacks. This is because in this scene there is more flashbacks then real time film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_transition - 6th October 2013

Critique of a scene - 27 Dresses

The first of the scenes that I am going to critique is from 27 Dresses. It's a romantic comedy which was released in January 2008. It is directed by Anne Fletcher and produced by Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Jonathon Glickman. In this scene Jane played by Katherine Heigl has just got out of the taxi and is running to meet Kevin played by James Marsden who is currently at a boat wedding. She realises that she is in love with him and the only way she will get her chance with him is if she gets on the boat, the only problem being that the walkway from the boat to the land is being removed. Jane then has to sprint and jump off the walkway and onto the boat, she makes it but then manages to fall over while walking down the step.

http://www.putlocker.com/file/GAQ46WM3E74KGC#

The scene is from 1.36.29-1.37.10.

In this scene there is about 15 shots in total with a variety of different angles used. The first shot that is used is a long shot, which also shows the surrounding area and Jane asking where the wedding is, this isn't a two shot because the characters talking aren't the most important element of this shot. The next shot is an extreme wide angle where it shows the scene of the wedding. In this scene you can tell where the wedding is and that it's on a boat but you are unable to make out anyone, this is because the location of this shot is the most important thing. Next is a camera movement which is a dolly shot the camera is moving along side the movement of the character this is because she is running. The shot after is point of view, where we see that they are moving the walkway, this shot is used so that the audience feels what the character feels. The camera then zooms back into her to create a medium close up where it shows the determination in her face, then another dolly shot is used as she sprints to jumps across. When she lands it leads to another medium close up and another point of view shot to show how far she jumped. Finally a medium shot is used as she walks down and then the last shot is a three shot with the main character and two minor characters in the shot. The sequence in total lasts for 41 seconds but each of the shots range in time with the close ups lasting for 1.5 seconds while the dolly shots last for 5-6 seconds.

Extreme Wide Angle to show where the wedding is. 

In this scene the sequencing of the shots is very important this is because at the start we are unsure to where she is actually going so we then get told and then we see a view of where she is heading and who she is going to see. This is because he is the main focus of the next shot. The next few shots focus on how she is going to overcome her dilemma and get to him, which she does. In the next part it's the relief of making it there. This small sequence tells a story about the characters personality and how she perseveres, this is important because it shows who she is.

This is some of the shots. 

In all of the shots there is some type of music in the background, to start off with the characters are talking and the music is soft, the music is very happy upbeat reflecting on the scenario. As she run the music speeds up, then a different type of music comes in when the scene goes over to the wedding, it's band music which is soft again as this time James is talking. Next is the sound effects on a horn while soft music is still playing in the background, this sound is used to make the character aware of what is going to happen. After that the music slowly dies down and only voices are used in the last couple of shots.

The sequencing of this scene is really important because it shows us a way of storytelling. The order in which the shots are built up for the ending. In this scene the directors have used a few different cut shots, straight cut is used when the scene changes from Jane running and goes to the scene where Kevin is talking this is a basic cut that shows the the shot has ended. Another shot that is used once after another and is the L cut, this is first used when the sound of the horn appears before we actually see what is happening in the shot, it then appears again when the men are moving the walk way and we hear them speak before we actually see what they are doing. This is done so that the shot feel more point of view. A wipe cut is also used this is used when Jane has jumped over the walkway and has landed this is to show the transition from her jump, as it gives us the impression that the jump is bigger than it actually is. In this scene there is a mix of fast and slow editing, this is because in the first couple of scene it's editing quickly to keep the attention focused but then for the one shot in the middle which lasts for about 6 seconds the editing slows down to get the full effect of the scene. Although each of this shots do fade into the next without looking out of place.

I think that some of the shots were easy to set up as it just positioning the actor, but I think the jumping shot would have been the hardest to film because they would have had to have got the correct timing for the shot to have worked as well as it did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Dresses - 6th October

Single Camera Technique

Single Camera Technique is where they use one camera to take each shot and angle, they then have to repeat this shot from every angle. Single Camera doesn't necessarily means it's just one camera with two or three cameras used to take different shots, such one camera may be taking a long shot with the other camera taking a close up. These shots are then edited together later on to give you the creative freedom you need to get the correct shots. Single cameras also give producers and directors more control over the shots although because each shot has to be done separately it's very time consuming.With single camera as it is very lightweight it is able to go anywhere.

Although more than one camera is used this is a single camera shot because the cameras are being used to shoot different angles. 

Single camera shots are very common and are mostly used for films, TV dramas and music videos, while multi camera shots are used for live chat shows, the news and live sporting events. The main difference between multi camera shots and single camera shots is the amount of cameras used, in a multi camera shot the director will cut between each of the cameras in order to get a quick editing process, they do this due to the lack of time they have. Multi camera shots are most likely to be taken inside a TV studio where they have have a set because there is usually a live audience. This is because on a live set you are going to have a lot more room for multiple cameras because this is what the studio was designed for.

Here is what a Multi Camera shot would look like. 

The main advantage of the single camera is the better quality of shots due to not having to worry about being in the view of another camera, the directors are able to move around freely. There isn't the worry about coordinating several camera and therefore are relieved of the tensions of continually cueing, guiding and inter-cutting between cameras. The directors have control over everything in their shot from the lighting, framing to the positions of the actors. They are able to select and rearrange the material. There isn't a feeling of instant commitment which can typify a multi camera show as it is very slow. Single camera allows the directors and actors to concentrate on doing one thing at a time. The shooting can degenerate into a self indulgent experimental session. They are only having to focus on what they are doing at the time as background music and video effects are added on later.

The disadvantage of a single camera shot is that it is very time consuming as you would have to repeat the shots over and over again unlike a multi camera shot where this wouldn't have to be done as much. Another disadvantage is that single camera shots are used outside which means if the weather has changed or something in the background has moved the shot would look odd because it would be different from every angle. This is where continuity is very important to make sure nothing is different from the previous shot. A big problem with single camera is that you will finish with a collection of tapes containing a mixture of good, bad, indifferent and mistakes. They are all shot in any order which needs to be sorted therefore it takes a lot of time.

When shooting with multi camera it switches from one to another this is an advantage when shooting a series of events going on a the same time or same area. The director of the multi camera is located away from the action. The director would be watching a series of picture monitors in the production control room. All of the instructions would be to crew members of their intercom headsets. The floor manager would be in charge of everything.

Multi camera production can degenerate into a shot grabbing routine by inter-cutting between several camera view points for the sake of variety.

There are three options when it comes to shooting in multi camera:

• 'Live on tape' - Beginning to end without a break. 
• 'Scene by scene' - A scene or act at a time, correcting each in turn. 
• 'Shot by shot' - Short action sequence with inter-camera switching to avoid interrupting the action. 

Multi Camera Variations 

When action cannot be repeated some directors use ISO (isolated) camera. his is used for when the camera is connected to the switcher as before but one of them is also continuously recorded on a separate VCR. ISO takes wide shots of action of the guest without any fear of missing a moment.

There are ways to tell whether it's a multi camera shot or a single camera shot. In a multi camera shot it's going to be live action as there is an audience. Multi camera shots are used when there is a lot of movement in the shot as one camera isn't going to be able to capture it all, e.g. a football match. These shots are used in a controlled location which is why the majority of the time these shots are used in TV studios.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/film-production-advantages-disadvantages-using-single-camera-multi-20110404-184900-752.html - 4th October

http://sallycartmellbtectvandfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/unit-21-single-camera-techniques.html - image used 4th October

http://accad.osu.edu/~midori/Materials/camera.html - image used 4th October

Video Production Handbook Third Edition - Gerald Millerson 2001 (Focal Press) - 10th December 2013

I done it 'cos I love it'

The original copy of it was released in 1987 by Peter Fischli & David Weiss, they were among the most renowned contemporary artists of Switzerland. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTobV-Gnv-8.

The first copy was released by Honda on the 6th April 2003 called The Cog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo.

The final copy was made into a music video of Ok Go - This Shall Pass was released on 2nd March 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w.

The one I like the best is Honda - The Cog. I think that this one is the best because it uses the most technology. I also like it because in the latest one it shows all the wires and doesn't look as modern or sophisticated. I think that the Rude Goldberg machine fits well with the company Honda because they are a company about cars which involves putting pieces together to make the final design. I think that this is what the idea behind the advert was that by one thing knocking into another it will create an effect with each of the parts fitting together. Due to the amount of money that Honda has it means that they can finish their advert of to a high quality so that it looks professional. I also think that because it isn't very long it's effective because the advert is able to keep focus for the two minutes, compared to the original which is 10 minutes and gets boring.

My favourite part of the original is at 9.00 minutes where the wire is on fire and it catches the bucket on fire which then leads to an explosion. I like this part because it's the most exciting part of the video. I think that because it leads up to the big ending. The least favourite part of the video is the beginning, I personally don't like it because it is really slow and it's not building up to nothing.

My favourite part; the explosion. 

My favourite part of the Honda advert is where the tires are uphill and getting hit because in real time this wouldn't be able to happen because the tires would just fall back down again. My least favourite part of the advert is when the oil drips down, I think that this is because it is really slow compared to the rest of the advert. If this part was sped up then there wouldn't be any think I disliked about the advert.

Wheels going uphill is very unrealistic because it's impossible. 

On the latest video Ok Go my favourite part is at the start when the car is pushed into the dominoes to create a falling domino effect. I really like this because it looks good. I don't think I have a least favourite part of this video because I think that all of it is really good and each part is different therefore it's not the same that is happening throughout.

In this I think that Honda and Ok Go copied Peter Fischli & David Weiss, although I feel that they didn't completely copy. I think it feels as though they Ok Go are copying Honda more than Fischli & Weiss, this is because the technology is more up to date because it's in recent years. I however don't think that copying is a bad thing, I think that this is because they are adapting the ideas and adding more to it. I don't think that it makes it any less important just because they are adapting ideas from the past. It's still important because it is all of their own work, even though the ideas aren't. I don't think that Honda and Ok Go videos would exist without Peter Fischli & David Weiss because that is where their original idea came from even though it's been adapted.

How would you feel if your work was stolen?

Artists are going to have similar ideas and sometimes it can feel as though other artists have been stealing work. This happens a lot when bigger companies steal the work from small unknown artists. Although this is causes a lot of negatives I think that there are some positives.

I think that if a large company was to steal your work without permission you would be annoyed because they hadn't asked you but I think that their could be positives to it. The positivities of it are that if a large company was to use it, it would get you exposure because of the popularity of the large company. This would be good because a lot of people would see your work.

I don't think that it matters what context it's used in because this shows the way one persons idea and work can be interpreted in a completely different way. This is similar to Peter Fischli & David Weiss' work because companies have interpreted it for example its used to fit into an advert about a car and then it's used again for a music video, this shows how one simple idea can be used a number of times. Each time someone copies the original work it actually moves away from it's original purpose because the next people are using it for their benefit.

The music video in which Justin Timberlake pays homage to Michael Jackson

A homage is a public acknowledgement or demonstration to either pay respect or tribute someone. For Justin Timberlake's new music video for 'Take Back the Night' he pays homage to Michael Jackson. The way he does this is through some of the movements featured in his music video, some of his own on street flair has been seen before in Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' video. Also in this video the sound is influenced by Michael Jackson. This isn't the first time that Timberlake has made homage to MJ with him covering 'Shake Your Body' originally sung by The Jacksons. I think that the influence that Michael Jackson held over a lot of musicians is the reason for this homage, he was an iconic figure which many looked up to. I think it is true to the source because many artists have payed homage to MJ in the past and this is another artist doing the same. The idea behind this was to pay tribute to him and give him respect for the success that he was.

http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2013-09-24/justin-timberlake-shake-your-body/ - 2nd October

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2381506/Justin-Timberlake-pays-homage-King-Pop-new-music-video-Take-Back-Night.html - 2nd October