Genre/Themes, Narrative Structures, Editing

The genre I would put Submarine into is Drama/Black-Comedy. Drama meaning an act of fiction in which the story is a serious one where the characters must overcome dramatic events and changes to get their outcome/ending. I would describe black comedy as seeing the lighter side out of morbid topics such as death, suicide, injury, loss and generally anything that you wouldn’t to happen to yourself. For example, in In Bruges when Ray, Ken and the Dwarf are in the bar. The topics on screen are that of prostitution, drug abuse, drinking, nationalism/racism, crime, murder and politeness. But it is done in a way that these topics are funny and done let the audience connect these with real world events.

 

The typical narrative structure for film was supposedly created by Aristotle. It is called the Three Act Structure and comprises of a beginning middle and end. This is basically the Hollywood how to of making films. Act one, the set up, act two, confrontation and finally act three, the resolution. Although art house and some European films don’t follow these structures. Although this is not the only type of storytelling, it is what I am going to focus on in my essay.
During the first three to six minutes of a film is when the story is set, characters are met and opinions are made on whether you want to spend the next ninety minutes watching the film.

The way that a film is edited can change a film entirely, There are some films which are made in real time, so there is no camera cuts. It is basically a play on film. But Hollywood films don’t use this, because the story is slow paced and they like to keep the audience entertained through out. Even as a story telling method editing is important, for example with editing you can show what is going on in one scene, then show what was going on at the same time with a complete different cast of actors. But when editing, if you cut to abruptly the audience will notice and this could destroy the whole film. Instead editors now try to  do matched cuts rather than jump cuts so that the story flows better. There are also important things such as the way a films fades in and out.  Star Wars for example is the only movie that I know of which has used wipes to go from one scene or image to another. Most films nowadays either just straight cut or use a very slight fade in or out.

Sound Design

Sound Design in a film is a vital and essential part for the film. Not only does it set the mood for the film and through choice of soundtrack suggest to the audience what emotion they should be feeling, but it can also be used to advertise for the film. Such as AC/DC’s song shoot to thrill, which was used for the trailers for Iron Man 2. Whenever you hear the song you will link it to the film, and may get a sudden urge to watch it. This could also work the other way and by watching the film could make you want to go out and buy the song or album.

There are also fads and styles in sound design. The first example is from the transformers films. The robots all have specific sounds that they make. Sounds which when heard can be instantly recognizable. The sound designer was a man named Erik Aadahl, along with his team. From the years following the release of the first transformers film in 2007 it seems that other film crews have jumped on the band wagon. Most recently from the film Battleships, the sound design for the aliens/robots/whatever they are (the film explains nothing) is practically identical to the transformers sound effects. Even though the same man Steve Jablonsky created the Soundtracks for both films this still doesn’t explain why the sound effects are so similar.

The second type of soundtrack similarity i wish to discuss is in independent films. For example, the films Whassup Rockers, Submarine and In Bruges. For starters, all three films take use of the environment that they are in. instead of a recording studio, it seems that they record a wildtrack and use the environment it was recorded in to set the scene for the film. Unlike holly word films where the sound is usually added in pre-production. And the types of music used are usually small bands, which is probably again down to budget, but it could also be to do with the way things are recorded. For some reason I alwasys picture grainy imagery if I hear independent film sound track, but they always affect me emotionally compared to Hollywood films. 

 

 

Mise En Scene

Mise en scene is everything in the shot. From the way the actors act to the way that the flower on the window shelf points down to the road below for a reason. It is everything that is viewable which helps with the story. This post is about a couple of little things in the mise en scene of films that I have found interesting. Firstly is something that a lot of people probably have never noticed. It doesn’t really play much part or any at all in fact in any of the films in has been in. But for the crew working on the film, it represents them and their roles on it. It is from the Pixar films.

 

Another example of mise en scene I am going to pull from the film Submarine. In almost every scene that Jordana is in she is accompanied by a red item of clothing or accessory. When she is not or the item is hard to see as it is being obstructed there is still something else there to try and draw the viewers gaze consciously or subconsciously on to her. For example, in the class room scene, her red pencil case is slightly being blocked by her chair, so the director has her flick a lighter on and off to draw your attention to her and to signify her importance in the film. 

Juno

The opening scene of Juno shows a house at dusk (presumably where she lives). Before Ellen Page who plays Juno describes how the events of the film start with a monologue over a series of clips that lead up to the start of the film. The cinematographer has used natural lighting in this film to make it feel more real. He has also used suggestive shots, where you cant see the entire action that is going on, only enough to suggest it. The lighting helps to also add innocents to the young roles the actors play. The dialogue which is only short is used to portray the innocence and nerves of growing up, whilst on the other hand is also trying to show the fast talking and bad attitude of the protagonist. The film then goes into the opening titles sequence which has been created by using an animated rotoscope technique. Juno who is accompanied by a red hood hoody which is probably to signify fertility, a yellow bottle of her signature sunny delight soft drink and baggy trousers draped over used converse, which is a very stereo typical symbol of teen culture. Of which the target audience of this film is. The sequence ends when the animated sequence fades back into the action in the film where Juno puts her empty drink bottle into a rubbish bin and into a shop.

In Bruges

 

In Bruges and Submarine have both got the same dramatic opening feeling. This could because they both have a similar low paced score or that they both have the same type of grainy lighting caused by using natural light during filming instead of man made lights specifically to help camera get a better shot. The scene starts in this film with a montage of establishing shots of gargoyles in low lighting in and around Bruges, where as the title suggests, the film is set. Between the Shots the editor has added a fairly long fade to black before fade back in to the next shot, this is probably to emphasise the cold and the dark topics that could be within the film itself. The film then breaks into a monologue of Ray (Colin Farrell) the protagonist telling a shortened version of why and how he ended up In Bruges. The montage is still going on in the back ground, but instead of close up shots of gargoyles it focuses on long shots of the streets and building at night. This is to set the scene and tone for the film to come. Thinking that the film is going to be dark and filled with drama, the last line of the prologue will then make you think twice about the genre and direction before the film starts. This last line also renders the opinion that has been built up into the viewers head about the mise en scene, and plants a new version there instead.

 

Cinematography. Saving Private Ryan.

Cinematography is basically a word to describe “Moving Photography”. It is the cinematographers job to convert the directors thoughts into the film that you see on the screen. Within cinematography there are many different techniques, all of which create a different atmosphere on the screen. For example, in the film Saving Private Ryan, the cinematographer (Janusz Kaminski) uses a single shot from where an elderly Tom Hanks walks from the path to the graves of his fallen friends. This sequence takes over a minute, in doing so the cinematographer along with the actor created an emotional build up which could not have been achieved through using multiple cuts. When the film moves back into Tom Hanks’s characters memory, the cinematographer uses detailed research from eye witnesses and veterans of the D-Day landings to build up an as accurate as possible cinematographic reinactement of the events of that day. Examples for this are things such as the soldiers getting sea sick on the way over on the landing craft down to small items which are usually left out of modern war films such as the plastic bags which covered the soldiers guns so that they do not suffer from the wet.

http://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/mise-en-scene-2/

http://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/mise-en-scene-2/

I’m posting this link because its an amazingly useful blog which shows all the basics of everything i need for this essay! And with out posting it i will forget where it is! 

Submarine Details

Submarine is a British made film adaptation of the novel with the same name which was written by Swansea born writer Joe Dunthorne. The film was directed by Richard Ayoade who is probably most famously know for his starring role in the British comedy series The IT Crowd. The film stars actors  Craig Roberts as Noah Taylor, Sally hawkins as Jill Tate, Paddy Considine as Oliver Tate and Yasmin Paige as Jordana Bevan. The films cinematography is done by Erik Alexander Wilson. The soundtrack was written and performed by “The Arctic Monkeys” frontman Alex Turner and Alex Hewitt. The producer was Mary Burke. The film was edited by Chris Dickens and Nick Fenton. Submarine was made by Film4 Productions and released on the 12th of September 2010.

Opening sequence Screen Shots.

These are images from the first minute of the film Submarine. These images along witht he sounds are what gave me my first impressions of the film.

Submarine opening minute

When submarine came on, the first feeling i had of the film was that it was going to be a very dramatic and depressing film. These opinions were suggested in the opening seconds by the mise en scene of the film. The cinematography which was done by Erik Alexander Wilson has a strange lighting set up which reminds me more of European cult films rather than films that are morre commonly made in Britain. The way that the camera pans slowly through a bedroom gives off the feeling that the room is occupied by a young person going through adolescence. The way that the sound is full of static and natural sound of what is going on out side (in this case seagulls) was informative enough for me to realise that the film could be set in a town by the seaside. 

The camera then stopped and cut to a teenage boy who happens to be the main character named Oliver then begins to narrate the opening sequence to introduce himself. I felt this sounded like Oliver was talking in the past tense to say that this was his story. It gave off the impression that the film could be about a situation which led to his death or suicide. The sound was gritty even though Oliver is soft spoken, it still gave off the impression of impending doom.