Bristol New Wave Film

Applying Mulvey's Theory

Transformers (2007)

I decided to use a scene from Steven Spielberg's 2007 film 'Transformers' to apply Mulvey's male gaze theory. I chose this scene because it is a prime example of a director using the camera to fragment Megan Fox's character - Mikaela, as she checks the car; thus sexualising a scene that without the use of male gaze, would not be sexual.

When Mikaela first opens the hood, a mid-shot is used to display her body and figure, it then zooms in, on her waist to emphasize she's wearing a crop top; this also completely cuts off Mikaela's head from the shot, highlighting that the director's aim is to focus the audience's attention on her body and view her as an object. Within the same shot, our protagonist Sam can be seen staring at Mikaela's body, which further demonstrates what the camera wants the audience to be looking at. Women may also be affected by this scene as they might notice that all the attention is focuses on the character's slim figure and flat stomach, and because of this they may believe that this is the ideal body type and as a result will want to achieve this look.

A close-up shot from what seems to be Sam's point of view focuses on Mikaela, again on ther crop top and the skin she is showing. The high-key lighting lighting seems to create a sort of golden highlight her skin, making her almost glow, therefore making her seem more attractive and almost airbrushed. When Mikaela bends over the camera yet again focuses on her body, cutting off her head. She is merely checking the engine, but from the camera, and a heterosexual male's perspective, the position seems alluring and provocative.

Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory states that in an industry dominated by male associates, producers turn the camera into a heterosexual man, in order to appease the audience by sexualising women using camera, lighting, and sound techniques. This is often seen in films and adverts when they use attractive women and use them to turn non-sexual situations into scenarios with a sexual undertone. Despite the male gaze theory majorly being used to appeal to men, it can also be used in an attempt to appeal to women. Through the lens of the camera, women will see effectively what the male looks for in women, and therefore they will take influence on how they act and what they wear based on how they want men to see them. It can affect women in a way that women want to see themselves. A study has shown that 60% of heterosexual women have admitted to regularly being attracted to other women - reinforcing the validity of the male gaze theory. Mulvey's theory was created in 1975 when she made the statement that in order to watch a film, the audience has to be put in the position of a heterosexual male in order to enjoy it fully. It is often presented in the camera movement, the camera often lingers on the body of the female almost in the way a man would look a woman up and down. The shots used are often longer takes and this is done to prolong the pleasure of looking, known in media terms as scopophilia.

Applying Freud's Theory

Fight Club (1999)

In order to apply Freud's theory, I decided to use David Fincher's 1999 film 'Fight Club;. This is because it is a deeply psychological film, revolving around the mind of an unstable man; thus allowing me to conduct a psychoanalysis of the character. 

The protagonist's alter-ego - Tyler Durden, represents the Id within the film. He is irrational and impulsive, and expresses only his primal and physical desires, rather than discuss and contemplate his feelings on a physical and intellectual level, just as the SuperEgo and the Ego do. Tyler focuses on trying to get the narrator to rid himself of his controlling ego traits. This is evident in the car crash scene, in which Tyler is behind the wheel and Edward (The Narrator) is passenger. Tyler is constantly undermining Edward with comments such as "your fucking pathetic" and "just let go", drilling him and threatening to crash until he finally submits, saying: "Fine I wouldn't feel anything good about my life is that what you want to hear?". It is at this point that the id finally has control over the ego, this is evident from the non-diegetic music that begins to play, that is deep and similar to that of a heartbeat; the deep tone of the music, I believe, is representative of how the id personality resides in the depths of the mind. This is also reinforced by the dark, low-key lighting throughout the scene; at one point the light from an oncoming van even produces a shadow on half of Edward's face, signifying the conflict between light and dark - reason and desire. Another scene where the Id triumphs is when Edward rejects and shuts out Marla - the superego of the film. In this particular scene, for one, the Id is physically situated within the basement of the setting, in the depths, thus signifying the repressed urges of the mind and the ID. He is also not apart of the conversation between the Ego and the SuperEgo, the id does not concern itself with the social restraints of the Ego and the Super ego, it is almost a completely separate consciousness. Edward Norton (The Narrator) is the Ego. The Narrator focuses on material things, like how much he can buy from an Ikea catalog - he says himself that his apartment alone is what defines him as a person, while Tyler lives his life with the belief that "the things you own end up owning you". The film’s narrator is not a whole person; he is merely the representation of a person’s ego that, for the duration of the film, lets go of the reigns of control attached to his id.  In the scene with Marla, the Ego is dominated by the id, by submitting to the primal urge of confrontation by essentially commanding the superego. Marla Singer is a representation off the super ego, the aspect of the mind that rivals the id. In this scene she is essentially begging the narrator for an explanation for the mark on his hand, she isn't compassionate or emotional, she simply wants the practical, objective answer to the question. She is not concerned with the subjective, emotional answer (essentially provided by the ID), she wants the facts, the truth. Additionally, Marla (The Super Ego) never listens to Tyler Durden, she is fixated on the Ego (the narrator).

Lacan's Mirror Stage Theory

Jacques Lacan's idea of the 'Mirror Stage' is a psychological development in which a child first recognizes itself in the mirror for the first time, and becomes conscious of it's image and self-hood. This stage is believed to occur between the age of 6 and 18 months of age, when the child first realizes it is individual from others. At this point the child begins to develop an identity that is distinct from others and yet, at the same time, inspired by and dependent on the images of others in order to achieve that image. It was from this theory that the idea of 'lack', and the concept of desire, arose. "Desire is a relation to being to lack, The lack is the lack of being properly speaking. It is not the lack of this or that, but lack of being whereby the being exists".

The foundation for the 'Mirror Stage' theory is built on Sigmund Freud's notion of the id and ego. During this stage, a child forms a sense of identity, and discovers a separate 'I' and 'other', by developing the ability to distinguish self from other; the child recognizes that they are unique and an individual, and not just a body reliant on others. This occurs before what is known as the linguistic stage of childhood, when a child's desires consist of basic human needs. This is reference to the 'Id' structure of Freud's theory of personality as the child has only the most basic and innate human desires. As the child begins development in the linguistic stage, it starts to use language and construct their identity, therefore the child's 'ego' begins to develop as it learns what is socially acceptable and forms morals. It is in this stage that the child subconsciously suffers an initial identity crisis, the sense of identity gives the child a foundation on which they are going to develop their personality. If this fundamental identification is not recognized, the child will resort to using external influences as examples to base their personality upon. Additionally, this will limit the child's ability to develop it's own ego, and therefore result in the child acting more to satisfy the needs of the id structure.

As an additional note, in relation to how we live our lives, Lacan theorizes that throughout our lives after our linguistic development, we will never be satisfied, due to the fact that ultimately we desire to return to the simplicity and convenience of life before we discover our identity, and that as we grow older, we become more comfortable as we come to the realization that what we want will not occur, and so the desire fades.

Freud's Theory of Personality

Sigmund Freud's structural theory of personality argues suggests that human behaviour is a result of the interactions between three components of the mind: The id, ego, and superego structures; and that the conflict between these three structures determines our behaviour and approach to the world.

Freud theorised that humans are born with a primitive yet unconscious instinct that requires gratification of only the basic physical human needs and desires, this is known as the Id. Though as we grow older we begin to develop morals, as a child learns in society what is right and wrong, this 'moral compass' that humans develop is known as the superego structure. The third and final structure in Freud's theory is known as the ego; in contrast to the other structures, the ego is a conscious part of your mind, and is the rational part of your personality. Freud considered the ego to be the compromising component between the two unconscious structures, with a sole purpose of balancing the demands of the id and superego in order to develop a rational solution to each situation.

The Id: The id acts as our unconscious and is where we get all of our "instincts" from. The id also contains a "pleasure principle", where we have this need to fulfil all of our desires, whether they be sexual or primal. If we do not fulfil these needs, the result can cause us tension.

The Ego: The ego is where our conscious lies, and this is the part of our brain which deals with reality. Essentially, the ego takes into consideration what the id wants, and will act upon it in the most socially acceptable way.

The Superego: This idea of social acceptance is where the superego comes into play, as it represents our morals and our sense of "right and wrong". There are two different components to the superego, which are: the ego ideal, which are the ideas of "good behavior" that have been instilled in us by our parents or guardians; and the conscious, which are the ideas that our parents or guardians tell us are bad and we shouldn't do. This is the part of our brain that makes us realize that if we do bad things, we will be punished and there will be consequences to our actions.

Bristol New Wave Draft Evaluation

In my contextual studies, I focused on the French New Wave movement, therefore when creating my new wave short I took influence from this movement and made an effort to implement techniques that were common to French New Wave films and particularly Godard and Truffaut. First of all, the entire film was shot with hand-held cameras, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in the film and empathize with the characters, and so creating a sense of realism. This was also reinforced by the fact that none of the scenarios were scripted and all were shot on-location, I simply filmed the activities we were getting up to around Bristol, from this I was able to capture genuine reactions and events as they occurred; this was a common convention of the French New Wave as directors aimed for spontaneity by shooting in public places and improvising lines. On the other hand, I used techniques that make the audience aware that they are watching a film; taking influence from Truffaut, there are scenes where the characters interact directly with the camera, whether it be looking into the camera or speaking to the audience through the lens. Another generic convention of the French New Wave was the excessive use of jump-cuts, therefore from taking influence from Godard's 'Breathless', in the post-production of my film, I tried to implement as many jump-cuts in my film as possible. Unfortunately, some of the clips that were shot were quite short in length, and therefore any jump-cut wasn't noticeable within the post-production. In the future I will shoot longer clips in order to be able to make effective and clearly noticeable jump-cuts. On the other hand, the technique of long-takes was popular among la nouvelle vague, for example the final shot of Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows', and because of this some of the shots in my film run unedited for a longer period of time. I decided to overlay the audio in my film with non-diegetic music, and I chose to use royalty-free music from Youtube to avoid copyright issues. This was to create a montage-style feel for the film, and I feel that the particular music I chose helps to convey the light-hearted mood achieved from the clips used in the video. Though a convention of French New Wave films was the overall use of diegetic sound, this is why in parts of my film I experimented with keeping some of the diegetic sound from the clips in the film. A disadvantage that I faced is that due to having to change camera settings for different shots, some of the clips didn't match in terms of lighting or image quality; although the film is only meant to be rough, in the future i will try to maintain a similar quality of picture in order to produce a higher quality final cut. I would also make an effort to film more clips of people in real-life situations to be able to have a running theme throughout my film, at the moment it doesn’t contain a set narrative, however films of the French New Wave were renowned for having open narratives with which audiences could make their own interpretation. 

Camera and Lighting Health and Safety

It is important that you take into account Health and Safety regulations when using camera and lighting setups. Within the studio, it is important that any cables connected to lighting or cameras are hidden or at least organised clearly and in an acceptable manner, in order to minimise the risk of anyone tripping on them. This will help to avoid injury but also damage to the equipment. The same goes for shooting on location, fires must be clearly visible to ensure that bystanders notice them and avoid them. Also, when shooting tracking shots, dolly shots, or walking shots, the operator must be aware of his surroundings and be sure to avoid obstacles in his/her path. Equipment that isn't in use must also be monitored at all times, to ensure that all of the equipment remains intact and functioning, and isn't stolen.

In regards to lighting, devices must be operated with care, when setting up lighting, be careful not to touch the bulb of any lights as they may be hot and could burn; it is important that equipment is turned on and off correctly as to make sure not to waste electricity or the battery life of portable devices. In some cases such as interview setups, the crew must make sure the lighting setup is correct so the subject or interviewee isn't blinded by the light and to avoid eye injuries.

Lighting Skills

Studio Lighting Techniques

Rembrandt Lighting

Rembrandt lighting is a lighting technique that is used in studio portrait photography. It can be achieved using one light and a reflector, or two lights, and is popular because it is capable of producing images which appear both natural and compelling with little effort. Rembrandt lighting is noticeable from the shadow it produces on one side of the face, and also the 'triangle' of light under the eye.

Butterfly Lighting

This method of lighting is perhaps the most common for portrait lighting. This is because it creates outlining shadows around the subjects face, highlighting it. It is a popular technique as it produces an image that is flattering and artistic, and is used ti portray beauty.

Edge Lighting

Edge lighting (or rim lighting) is a setup used to define the edge of someone's face. The lighting pulls the subject from the back ground by creating a defined outline around the edge of the subject, often offering depth and dimension to the subject.

Interview Lighting

Interviewers generally use the three-point lighting set-up. This is because it is simple toast up and requires little equipment. The key light is the initial bright light that is shone on the subject's face, the fill light is shone from another angle in order to eliminate any shadows that may be on the subject's face, to give a clear picture. The back light is used to bring the subject away from the background by defining the edges of their face.

Contextual Study Evaluation

Contextual Study Evaluation

     For my contextual studies, I chose to study the French New Wave movement. I decided to focus on two directors – Jean-Luc Godard, and Francois Truffaut, and analyse three films from the two directors. I decided to choose two films from the same director in order to be able to make reference to the auteur theory, and provide textual evidence in order to highlight this theory. Though using one of Truffaut's films also allowed me to compare their different approach to directing, and how their works helped to shape the movement in individual ways.  There was a large range of French New Wave films that i could have analysed, but the three I chose were: Breathless (1960), Band of Outsiders (1964), and The 400 Blows (1959); this is because all three are more renowned films – The 400 Blows even won Truffaut an award at the Cannes film festival, and in my opinion some of the most defining films in the era. Though before covering the films in the essay, I decided to delve into the history of the French New Wave, and particularly the history of my chosen directors in order to provide some context and justify their reasoning for 'breaking the rules of cinema'. Studying their pasts as film critics and particularly the 'Cahiers du Cinema' allowed me to study key scenes in more depth as the history provided me with the directors' visions for their films and how they implemented techniques to achieve their unique look. When studying the works of Godard, I found that he was interested in 'destroying cinema', and because of this I tended to focus on the production and post-production of his films – technicalities such as the camerawork and editing style, how his unnatural techniques opposed conventional cinema. When studying Truffaut's The 400 Blows, I focused more on the characters of the film and the director's justification for his narrative choices, since the film was described as almost autobiographical. Though some of his techniques were similar to Godard's, Truffaut was actually interested in bringing cinema into a high-culture state of art and entertainment, so rather than try to just purely oppose mainstream cinema, he attempted to bring his stylistic choices into light and shape the way that films were created and viewed in the future. The difference in the director's views on cinema allowed me to compare and contrast their work and how it defines their ideoligies. Before starting my essay, i conducted research and collected a sustainable amount of information on which I would base my contextual study; I found information from a range of sources such as websites and books; however, during writing my essay i found myself referencing the same source on some occasions, therefore in the future I will accumulate research from a wider range of sources, which will allow me to include more valid evidence and context in my essay. I have structured my essay in a way that there is a clear aim of each paragraph, this is to make sure that the information is set out in a clear and concise method in order to meet the gradin criteria. If i were to improve on this essay, I would probably make an effort to link the director's work to the context of the French New Wave more thouroughly,  this would help to develop a deeper understanding of the movement and why the directors made such an impact on the film industry. Also, I would conduct more in-depth textual analysis of key scenes within my chosen films, picking up on things such as lighting and camera angles, and using technical vocabulary would help to display my understanding of the topic.