Thursday, 1 October 2015
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Beasts of the Southern Wild 2014
An interview with Benh Zeitlin, Director and Ben Richardson, Cinematographer of the award winning independent film Beasts of the Southern Wild. The movie was made on a wafer thin budget, and is a demonstration of what can happen when two young filmmakers are prepared to collaborate and take risks. We will be analysing the film in the next few months, so make sure you can get hold of it before then. See me if you need a copy.
Perfume - The Story of a Murder Opening Hook
- In eighteenth century France, there lived a man who was one of the most abominable people, in a era which knew no lack of gifted and abominable people.
When you read this line, what questions immediately come to your mind about this man? A psycho? nasty piece of work? How would you feel if you met him walking down the street? alone?
This is the opening sentence of Perfume - The Story of a Murderer by author Patrick Suskind.
The novel is a masterpiece of 20th century literature, and yes the Chief Protagonist is a murderer who kills women to capture their scent. What the author did was use a technique called Opening Hook. It is a literary technique used by the author to capture the attention of the reader. He or she wants us to read their book. To do that, they must bring us into their world. The opening hook is there to provoke, to shock.
Exactly the same technique is used by filmmakers. They need to capture your interest from the beginning. and keep it throughout. There are many different hooks throughout a film but the opening hook is always the most profound.
Task:
Have a look at the opening scene of the movie with the sound off. What messages are the images giving? Then watch it again with the sound on. Incredible, isn't it? All the messages that you came up with were confirmed by the spoken word.
Cinematography Learn from a Master
Here is a good presentation from filmmaker Richard Michalak. This will also be a much used reference this year. It takes us through the three most basic angles wide shot, mid-shot, and close-up. Richard also takes us through different basic techniques using an SLR camera. If some of the terminology starts to go over your head, DON'T PANIC!!! The further you go on, the more things come together. At this stage of the course, the most important is the most used techniques in the medium. Don't forget, any use of wide shot, mid-shot and close-up for any shorts you bring, must be accompanied with justification. The how and the why is the most important.
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