Power of ‘Cinema’ to transform ‘the everyday’

Power of ‘Cinema’ to transform ‘the everyday’

In film, a great director (& crew) can turn a usually normal scene and transform it into something completely different, something ‘cinematic’.

PROJECT: Style Brief

Think of an everyday activity i.e. Walking the dog, Meeting the parents of your partner, Eating chocolate, catching the bus...

Think how you could use the language and dynamics of ‘cinema’ to transform this scene. This could be to evoke drama/ adventure, enhance tension, be sensual, question ‘norms’, make a social/ political statement....

The project is a vehicle to experiment with and develop your Film Production Skills. The film will form part of your portfolio for Film Production Skills Module. FMAP4501 Assessment One.  Showcasing your Pre Production, Camera, Lighting, Sound Design and Editing Skills.

Consider: Mise en scene, Cinematography, Sound Design, Acting style. Mood, Genre, Style.

Sound design plays a key part in David Lynch’s surreal often unnerving debut film, Eraserhead. See 'Meet the Family' scene around 13m50s or Ch.3 on DVD.

Big Shave (1967, USA, Dir. Martin Scorsese)

The Big Shave (1967) is well known for being the short that launched Martin Scorsese's career. Four decades later, it still stands as a powerful allegory of the Vietnam War and a study of aural and visual interaction, the gruesome bloody close-ups contrasting with the ironic use of upbeat rock music.’ BFI

‘Many film critics have interpreted the young man's process of self-mutilation as a metaphor for the self-destructive involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War, prompted by the film's alternative title, Viet 67.’ Wiki

More early Scorsese shorts

Big Shave - IMDB

 

In this scene from Lynne Ramsey’s Ratcatcher. James a young boy from an impoverished family in 1970’s Glasgow, attempts to escape the streets around his tenement home that are piled with rubbish because of a dustmen's strike.

The end of this scene (from 4.30) is particularly poetic.

Great article about British Cinema

Review of Ratcatcher

Delicatessen - Directors: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Great editing and sound design in this fun surreal Trailer for 'Delicatessen',  introducing the characters living in an apartment block above a butchers.

Doodlebug (1997) Director: Christopher Nolan

This is the official trailer of Jafar Panahi's 2006 award-winning film "Offside". Deals with reality of women's life in Iran's patriarchal society. A group of women each attempted to get in the stadium to watch the live Iran-Bahrain World Cup qualifying match in Tehran but got busted and detained in a cordoned area at the back of the stadium.