Second Production Check

Ali, Shay and I have decided to work together for our film. We found a good way to merge all of our themes together to create a complex yet doable film with a given plot sequence. Shay wanted to do the theme of struggle with body image, Ali coming of age and myself the portrayal of unique and shared human experience. So we worked out a way in which we'll have two protagonist with contrasting lifestyles who exprience growing up in very different ways to show they experience a shared human cycle in a unique way. Furthermore, we also decided that we could easily have one or both of the protagonists struggle with body image. We haven't decided if both of them should, but I feel it's more impactful if only one of them did to show how other people face struggles some do not even think about once in their lives.

Though we need to discuss our individual conceptions; currently, I'm thinking that the style of the film will be developed using techniques relevant to the theme such as parallel shots between one life to the next, dark vs bright colors, dramatic shot angles and sound designs, which works well to incorporate all the elements each of us wanted to focus on individually. The mood of the film will be relatively somber as the audience is watching contrasting coming of age stories of struggle. However, I'd like to think we can insert moments of hope in there as well. The purpose of this movie is to portray the uniqueness of each human experience and educate the audience on struggles with body image.

We also have decided on our roles in our film. Shay will be the sound designer. Ali and I had both selected cinematographer but one of us will simply switch to director as we further explore our strengths and weaknesses. So far, we don't have our crew of cast or locations yet but I think the nature of our film gives us a pretty clear of the setting we'll need so I don't feel that will be an obstacle.

Overall, I think our film collaboration is shaping up to be more complex and interesting than what I I initially had in mind and I am excited that all of our themes worked so well together to create an inclusive storyline. I also feel that this will be good in the sense that I didn't have a strong sense of how I could find a cast and crew by myself and I'm comfortable knowing that we can share those duties now with each other. Overall, I am excited to work on this newly formulated project.

Genre Presentation

Independent Study: Checkpoint 1

Lighting Project

Our use of thirds worked really well in highlighting the contrast between different lighting types. The use of simplicity also looked well for our purposes, and shots with a busy background looked out of place. We were fairly successful with our lighting set ups, except that in some shots the difference between hard and soft light wasn't as pronounced as it could have been. For editing, we attempted to use the part of the clips that were the most steady and the use of black and white was really crucial, also. Overall, this project was a success with few problems.

First Production Check

I want to base my film on the combination of the uniting human experience theme and the theme of individual experience by focusing on the connecting theme of theme. I want to connect these two themes by portraying how although everyone experiences the same life cycle, privilege or the lack therefore can cause one's person experience to be drastically different from someone else's. For the sake for expressing my message clearly, in my plan, I plan to depict two drastically different lives - one person who faces struggles in every step of the way while the other person almost glides through life without worries. In the exposition, I will start my depicting their lives separately and then lead them to meet at the climax and show the fallout of what each character learns from the other's life.

Next, I will discuss the film techniques I will use to create meaning. Using parallelism, I might layer shots or drop contrasting situations between each characters quickly one after another for maximum effect about my theme. Furthermore, I plan on focusing on the technique of using dramatic, often contrasting camera angles. For example, the person with privilige will be depicted around vertical lines, in order to convey that they have easy access to power. On the other hand, the other character will shot using bird's eye to make the person look weak and overpowered. In shots where the two characters are together, I will use proportion to make the privileged character look a lot larger than the other character. Because I will be focusing on camera angles anyway, I will choose the role of cinematographor as my primary focus will be on the layout of each frame. 

Based on my experiences with film, I plan to make adjustments to highlight my strengths and cover my weaknesses this year. During the making of the chase scene last year, I was really frustrated with movements such as the dolly and tracking that involves fully moving the tripod as it was extremely stressful to set the timing of those shots and it was not something that worked well for me. On the other hand, I very much enjoyed using movements like panning and tilt that involved only moving the camera and they were effective for me. In addition, I want to create better unity through using similar principles of design as my films last year appear disjointed a lot because of the jumbled principle of designs in the background.

Themes In Conceptual Film

A theme in art is a message or a thread that connects the images the artists present in order to convey meaning. A theme presents a perspective through which it views the world. Below are the three perspectives I personally want to explore this year.

One of the themes that interested me the most was the one titled "Looking Inward: The Human Experience". This theme was the most fascinating to me, as it emphasizes that our inherent human nature makes us more similar than we think, despite vastly different upbringings, culture, or life experiences. This is because we all experience the broad life cycle the same: we start as helpless children, grow into adolescents, and fall into adulthood and decline and pass away. I want to explore the way in which our human nature allows us to connect and embrace each other and allows us to look beyond superficial differences.

On the other hand, I am also interested in the uniqueness of each individual experience. To portray individual experience, I want to experiment with parallelism by telling two stories through alternating shots of each story. I am not yet sure if I want to explore the distinction between two lives, two cultures, etc. but I am interested in this difference. By showing the sharp distinction of the same routine, I hope to convey the message that each story follows the same pattern but is riddled with unique differences characteristic of only that person, culture, etc.

The last separate theme I'm interested in stems from the reading on iconoclasm. The rejection of images and idols bears the question of what do images signify that they extract such a violent act of destruction. I want to draw upon the idea of the meaning an association gives to an idol or image and why that association elicits such strong reactions. Furthermore, I want to explore the inherent worth of objects. I hope to explore whether we, as humans, can get caught in a trap of giving inherent worth to objects and whether we can value them independent of any other idea.

Interpretive Claim for Rear Window

Interpretive Claim

Hitchcock’s Rear Window is centered around the theme of voyeurism. This theme is developed through the usage of many devices such as extended point of view shots, prevalent framing, mise-e-scene to create a sense that the audience is watching, just as Jeffries is. In this time period, voyeurism was a popular theme as the post-war atmosphere tended to be depressing, and filmmaker such as Hitchcock sought to channel that mood into interest by shifting attention from one’s own grief to realizing man’s endless curiosity. Alfred Hitchcock uses a multitudes of techniques and skilled cinematography to lure his audience into Jeffries’ fascination with observing in his renowned film Rear Window. Perfectly exploiting the somber atmosphere of the post-war period, Hitchcock distracts the audience with the film while at the same time reminding the audience of their curious and, perhaps, intrusive nature by portraying the theme of voyeurism.

This still is seen from Jeffries’ point of view. The point of view shots characteristic of this film are critical to developing the feeling that the audience is watching from Jeffries’ eyes: in this way, the viewer becomes aware of the fact that they are just as curious and meddling as Jeffries seems to be. In addition, this shot is limited in what it reveals. The viewer can take note of the neighbors – the kissing couple, the dancing young woman, and Thorwal planting something. However, the reader is not given insight into why they are all doing these things or what happens next. These limited understanding reflects how little Jeffries knows and allows the

viewer to feel the same interest and frustration that he feels to find out more and understand the things happening in his neighborhood.

In the film, Hitchcock also uses a variety of panning shots to display the depth of what Jeffries is observing. Through these shots, the audience can see what Jeffries is watching one by one as it is revealed by the camera. This still is one that is done in the same. First, the woman kissing comes into view, then the dancer, then Thorwal. These shots create a feeling of constraint and anticipation toward what is to come. The viewer learns to expect a dramatic reveal with these prolonged shots. However, Hitchcock also uses these shots and  reveals nothing more at times. This lack of information, then, shows the viewer how Jeffries feels being unable to move and find out new information that he cannot see in his position at the window. Hitchcock’s persistence usage of the panning shot that reveal and the point of view shots that exhibit the viewer’s desire to know about others all integrate into the larger themes of voyeurism.

One of the most prominent characteristic of this shot is the drab color surrounding it. The buildings, of course, are very gray tone and dull, reflecting Jeffries’ somber mood of boredom. Hitchcock cleverly uses the dull colors to induce a feeling of dullness to the viewer so that they can identify with how Jeffries is feeling. However, as the plot develops, Jeffries finds himself more than captivated by the happenings around him.  Then, the natural and routine lighting contradicts Thorwal’s unusually suspicious behavior and other questionable events taking place around Jeffries. In such a way, Hitchcock uses the dull color and lighting to establish a sense of routineness in the beginning, and then uses the same lighting to add a layer of contrast to the film.

Another prominent feature of this still is the severe usage of mise-en-scene. There are innumerable amount of things taking place in this one shot. Each story is unique and captivating, but once the still is seen together and all the stories blend into one another, there is a feeling of chaos and confusion. This confusion is the same kind Jeffries feels as tries to unravel the many mysteries he witnesses. Therefore, the usage of mise-en-scene further develops the theme of voyeurism.

Voyeurism is the primary principle that Hitchcock repeatedly reminds the viewer, This still perfectly captures the essence of that theme due to usage of camera angle and several other elements. In conclusion, Hitchcock utilizes many different elements - particulary point of view shots, panning shots, lighting and mise-en-scene - to create that interest in the viewer to remind them of their extreme curiosity.