Delicatessen 1991

Delicatessen is a post apocalyptic film about an eccentric household struggling to get by (Who also happen to be a bit cannibalistic). It is a Black comedy by Jean Pierre Jeunet and in my opinion one of his finest films.
I have chosen a comical sequence between two characters who don't really relate in much of the rest of the film, but in this dance-like scene the characters come together naturally to create a scene which helps develop the comic side of the film and prevents it from becoming a depressing film about struggle.
There are 12 shots in this short scene lasting for 1 minute and 54 seconds, making the scene quite short, but Jeunet keeps the sequence rhythmic by adding music and acting which correlate.
The scene starts of with shots that last from 5 seconds to 8 seconds and uses these as introductions. Although the scene is in French the audience needs hardly any dialogue to read the film, Louison enters to fix the bed springs and is greeted by Plusse. From shots 3 to 7 we have parallel shots between the two characters and this allows the audience to view both characters actions and get a feel for the room, we know where things are, we can see that the music is coming from the TV, it all builds up to the comical dance scene that is about to come.
The bed scene itself is between 13 seconds and 20 seconds, these shots are longer and wider to allow us to see the movement between the characters, they bounce on the bed and its funny, its in time to the music and in some ways the audience wants to bounce along with them, because its funny, because of the timing simply because we want to join in. Jeunet has made us fond of Louison and we want to join in with his games.
Its also amusing because of the sexual nature of the scene (or the lack of sex in the scene) We know that the bed is squeaky from other scene where the bed has been used for Sex, but in this case the bed is not, it is simple and childlike, the sound reminds us of the sex but here innocents replaces it and it is almost ironic. He uses a lot of two shots, straight angles of the characters which makes the scene even more comical, the camera moves with them, making the audience move with them.
I think really its the timing that makes this scene so funny to watch, there's something quite artistic about it, in this grim world they live in we have this happy little scene which makes everything okay again, and Jeunet does this over and over again within the film.   

Here is a link to the wonderful scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke4Ua_mFfZ8&feature=related

10 second film in one shot (fail)

Unfortunately we failed the task, Had there been less action, or no action at all we may have passed, a story can be anything, a shot of a clock, some toilet, anything we don't have to try and do anything elaborate to make a film, in other words; keep it simple.

Here's another film we made, which would have passed;



For our first project this was good fun to get started with the cameras, learning how to focus properly and even getting to know how to work in a group, it was interesting also to get feedback for the first time from our tutors and especially our peers.

East of Eden 1955

East of Eden is a film about relationships, love and the difference between good and evil. Throughout the film we constantly question the meaning of 'Bad'. What is bad? The word is used a lot by Cal, a character based on Cain from the Biblical Story Cain and Abel, a tale of two brother, sons of Adam and Eve who compete for the love of God, much like Cal and Aron's relationship with their father.
Cal struggles to understand why his father loves Aron so much more than him and so rebels coursing those around him to think him evil and 'bad'. Cal's intentions often are not bad however the way he does things are bad, the money he gets from his mother is from a Brothel and the money he makes is from profits from war, but Cal's intentions are pure and good. So does that make Cal good?
It is interesting to see the character development of Cal, at the start of the film Cal is a rebel, Everything he does is wrong but by the end of the film Cal becomes almost saint like, looking after his father in his sick bed. Whereas Aron changes to a complete opposite, starts out good and saint like, he can do no wrong, but by the end of the film Aron becomes something completely different, unrecognizable to his father. Its as if in order for Cal to become good Aron must become bad. The father can only choose one son to love the most. This theme is often repeated in biblical story's and story's from other cultures, such as Joseph being the favorite son of Jacob.
It is not only the love of their father that the brothers are competing over, it is also the love of a woman, Abra. As Cal and Aron changed and almost swap roles and personality's Abra changes her feelings for the brothers, Much like the father does. Throughout the film Abra acts as a confident for Cal which is exactly what causes Aron's downfall, Abra and the discovery that his mother is alive (and running a brothel) turn him mad. He seems possessed.
The film leaves us still questioning good and bad. Is Cal is good now, what happens to Aron? Is he to die at war? Had Cal turned good for good?

JVC GY-HM100 pro HD Camcorder

A brief overview of the Camcorder we will be using throughout the years! There are loads of other things I need to know but hopefully I will pick this up with practice.

Some examples of the microphones we will be using in our projects;

Lapel mic attaches to persons top, under the clothes so the wire is hidden and just the mic is seen.
The Lapel is good for interviews, or movies where the camera is at a long distance and the characters are too far away for a boom.
One end of the Lapel is attached to a transmitter which then transmits the audio to the camera via a receiver attached to the top of the camera.

Directional Mic (Can be a Boom, or attached to the camera as long as it is a long and facing in the direction of the audio)
The Direction mic is used to pin point audio, it picks up the sound that is directed into the mic. So again this is good for interviews and talk shows where the sound can be controlled easily.
Usually with a boom a sound tec holds the Boom up throughout the scene, however if there is no need for movement the boom can be set up to be self standing.
The covers on the mics are called wind shields (because it protects the microphones from the wind)

The controls for the audio input are on the top of the camera when the microphone has been attached.
When using this on the Camera you have to turn off the Cameras own in camera mic and then make sure all the settings are correct. Even if you can hear the audio through a headset if the controls are not correct the camera will not pick up the sound.
The controls on the right are to make sure the camera does not pick up too much sound, you must make sure the sound is not too hot, and if it is it can be adjusted there.

Modern Times 1936

Charlie Chaplins Modern Times is a comedy, but there are many important messages that Chaplin is telling the audience about life during the 30's in america.
1930s America was the start of the depression. Americans were out of work and when they did get work it was hard and often not enough to support their family's. This is reflected a lot in Modern times, there are the obvious things such as the heroins father being out of work and rioting and then more subtle references such as Chaplins character enjoying life in Prison more than the outside world, we understand that not only is Chaplin getting fed in prison but also has the safety of his cell. We understand why Chaplin is so reluctant to stay and although in the film it is a comical aspect it gives us something to think about the 30s in America.
Chaplin even explicitly makes fun of the American Dream, this idea that if you worked hard enough you could build yourself a home and have the perfect family, The tramp and Paulette Goddard's characters watch eagerly as the 'perfect couple' say goodbye to each other. The Tramp says the line "We'll get a home even if we have to work for it". But by this he doesn't mean the kind of work that pays like a job, because there are no jobs, they have to resort to stealing. This is amusing in the film, but also moves us as we know, as did American audiences when the film was realised that this is a realistic approach to being able to survive. Its what makes Modern times more meaningful that just a comedy, its a story about hard work, no matter how hard you work or try you still cant reach that dream. In a way its extremely tragic and we are left with wondering what will happen to the couple. Could the tramp end up like the father? Will they get caught by the police? We are left unknown, much like the Americans were when they could not get jobs, what was their fate?
Chaplin was giving us more than just a comedy when he wrote and directed Modern Times.   

The first of many

Filmy Film is a Blog focused on my 3 year Film course at Middlesex University, it will include posts about the course, what I'v learnt and how I'v interpreted lectures, seminars and of course films.

I'll also include posts about films from outside of class and any of my own projects.  Can't wait to get started! Wish me luck ;)