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. 

Bristol New Wave Brief

     For my contextual study, I researched into the French New Wave movement, focusing particularly on directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. Godard especially made an effort to make the audience aware that they were watching a film; he achieved this through various techniques, such as actors looking at the camera and addressing the audience directly; also, Godard used editing techniques such as jump-cuts to interrupt the continuity of the film and give it an unpolished edge. Truffaut's personal style was to attempt to mirror his personal life in his films. A common technique throughout the majority of New Wave directors I have found is the flare for spontaneity in their work, and the desire to capture genuine human emotion, rather than scripted narratives. From researching the works of these directors, I aim to implement similar techniques and features in my own 'New Wave' video. Firstly, I plan to film most of my footage in Bristol during a residential trip, I will be filming simply what we get up to whilst filming our Bristol promotional video, in other words there is no script, therefore the footage will just be our general life while in Bristol, furthermore taking influence from Truffaut by giving the audience an insight to our lives. The lack of script and fixed narrative is influenced by the French New Wave, as directors would encourage spontaneity and genuine reactions by improvising regularly on set. All of the footage will also all be shot on-location throughout the city, with the addition of footage from our commute to the city in order to portray our entire journey, this is also another element of the French New Wave. Following this theme, my plan is to edit my footage into a montage style film, with various different clips from different situations; in addition to this i will have non-diegetic music over the top of the footage in order to convey the emotion of the film. Furthermore, I will perhaps include some form of narration or monologue over some of the footage  as an attempt to experiment and see if it fits in with my film; this in itself follows the New Wave philosophy to bend the rules and experiment with new techniques - whether or not this will be included in the final edit will depend on if it adds to the quality of the video or not. During filming, I will try to maintain the same quality of picture on the camera as much as possible, however I will change them if necessary in order to achieve a good quality picture. Overall I will aim to keep the frames per second figure as fixed as possible in order to maintain a smooth viewing experience when piecing the clips together. However, settings will inevitably need to be changed due to the fact that we will be filming using only the light available, as we will not have access to additional lighting. Therefore transitioning from outdoors to indoors will require settings such as the ISO and aperture of the camera settings being changed. Finally, my New Wave film draft is not meant to be perfect, therefore the final cut is meant to be rough and unpolished.