New Wave Film Task

Design Brief

In my film, I want to reflect on the isolation due to lockdown in the UK has had on people mental state

I want to repurposed news footage from the daily coronavirus infection counts to the speeches made by Boris Johnson.

This will hopefully create a social realism film aesthetic similar to the opening scene in La Haine (1995) by using montage to showcase the current state of the UK during the pandemic as we are panicking and increasingly getting frustrated with our leader for inaction and half measures.

However, unlike La Haine (1995), I want to intercut this montage with footage from someone in isolation who is losing the mind while also showcasing the events unfolding during lockdown like university students trapped inside their dorms forced to pay for classes that could have been done at home.

Will use M.I.A's song Paper Planes in the soundtrack as the lyrics which are about a grifter taking money are contrasted with the politicians like Boris Johnson as they take money from students and leave to rot in their dorm rooms as the virus claims whole sections of school like Manchester University.

I already have a lot of footage from public transport looking at the empty streets in lockdown so I will

contrast that interior shots looking out of windows indicating the UK's wish to go outside and leave this pandemic behind us and to signify the cramped space the character is locked in during lockdown. 

I would love to film this in a university dorm room however for my own safety concerns and due to current lockdown conditions that seem unlikely so I will have to make my own home feel as compact as possible by using close-ups and low key lighting making the visibility, this will make the environment/setting seem more claustrophobic.

I want to create a merge of techniques from Hong Kong New Wave and British New Wave by having the overarching onstage sequence be realistic and invoke social realism films like Kes (1969)  I want to combine that with my section of someone going made in isolation by using Hong Kongs New Wave techniques such as the work of Wong Kar-wai as he creates a dream-like atmosphere. However, unlike Wong Kar-wai, I want to use this effect such as slow-motion (slow shutter speed) and overlaying images to create a nightmare that my character desperately wants to escape.

My use of low angles and dutch angles in these shot of my character screaming will hopefully create a further sinister unhinged tone by making the audience look up at this character in a crooked position giving them an image of power but in combination with the dutch angle, it also showcases the lack of control he has over his own mental state as the madness causes them to act out and scream in there isolation.

I will use my Panasonic Camcorder with a 55mm Zoom Lens, however, to create the most natural style possible for my film for the sake of realism I will only be using the standard lens focal range of 35 to 50mm, as this is the most accurate lens type with the human eye due its focal length being the same as our eyes themselves making us feel present like we are in the scene ourselves.

My use of this camcorder for my production will create a home video quality to the footage, similar to the 40mm home films of the past which I will be mimicking with overlays and scratched effects to my footage. I will combine the footage of my camcorder to the footage gathered on my phone emphasising my inspiration for realism from British New Wave, as unlike film cameras like the "Sony Pxw-fs7 II and 18-110mm Lens" which are used in actual film production to give a sleek clean look to the footage synonymous with films while I want to have faults and grain in my footage making it seem more natural as the faults in cheaper cameras like those in iPhones make the film seem more authentic.

 and will be using mostly closeups and handheld camera. I plan to use filters and overlays in post-production to add grain and texture to my footage giving it a home video aesthetic. Much like films in the found footage genre as I will be taking some inspiration for the nightmares from found-footage horrors like The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Rec (2007). For this reason, I will be using natural lighting rather than bringing key lights this is due to my montage being of establishing shots of naturally lit environments mixed with news footage that has already been shot meaning I can't alter the lighting choices but the interior shots with my subject going mad will use low key lighting will be best to create my intended sinister atmosphere.

Due to the current lockdown, I will be shooting inside my house so there is no real need for a risk assessment. But during the shoot, I will be handling a knife so in advance, I have dulled the blade and have placed a medkit just off-camera on set on the off chance I accidentally cut myself.

New Wave Film

Evaluation

Overall I believe my production was a success, I created a film that followed my initial idea and plans for what I wanted to make my film about the context of the current state of the UK in 2020 and showcase that through a montage and through the descent into the madness of a character isolated in lockdown. My editing to the beat of the song with the montage created an engaging film and the chaotic mix of my "nightmare" imagery made the film feel sinister. This was also achieved by having vocational glitches in the montage to make the audience feel uneasy.

The sound of a news interview and Boris Johnson's speeches clearly indicated the current panic of the UK government as cases of Covid rise, my use of sound in the nightmare periods of the montage which I purposely used a lack of sound for some of them and loud static and screams in others and perfectly showcased the desperation form both the public as I increased a shots shutter speed to make the image look more jittery and distorted and I overlayed the same image making it seem like multiple people were screaming and form the government to get things back to normal and I executed my plane to use the song Paper Planes to showcase how the public feels betrayed by johnson and how the current university students trapped in their dorms see him and the university boards as thieves. 

I accurately followed my inspirations for the film with my use of close-ups coming from Hong Kong Cinema like Fallen Angels (1995) and the use of real news footage to create an environment of social realism/British New Wave like in Kes (1969).

Overall I think my use of camera and lighting was successful in creating my intended cramped/claustrophobic feeling with my use of closeups and my shot choices that fill the frame more during the "nightmare" sequences when cutting back between the montage however I think this effect could have been improved from a small like 2.2:1 which is used in 70mm frame as by having this black bar on the sides of each shot would make these shot feel tighter and more cramped like when used in Lighthouse (2019) which uses aspect ratio to make the characters feel trapped, adding to there forced isolation on an island in the middle of a vast sea. But I successfully created my intended natural look to my film with my use of 35 to 40mm focal range as it mimicked the human eye and with my use of overlays and scratches to the footage in post-production to mimic old fashioned home videos.

My lighting could have been more experimental, yes my low key lighting made the setting feel naturalistic due to my use of actual lighting fixtures in my house but if I mixed experimental lighting with my use of low key it could have added to the dream/nightmare aesthetic seen in my inspiration Hong Kong New Wave cinema, like how coloured lighting is used in The Mood for Love (2000) to create the dreams each character has for the future.

In my opinion, I achieved my goal by showcasing the state of the UK during the pandemic through my use of footage showcasing the rules of coronavirus like social distancing to further provide the context to the isolated establishing shots. But if I wanted to improve my footage I would like to find a more condensed/small environment to film my character's descent into madness as it could then more accurately recreate the state of students in universities, which was one of the main events I wanted to highlight in my montage with my use of still images.

Reference List:

La Haine (1995) Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz

Kes (1969) Directed by Ken Loach

Fallen Angles (1995) Directed by Wong Kar-wai

The Blair Witch Project (1999) Directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick

Rec (2007) Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaz

Paper Planes (2007) by M.IA

The Lighthouse (2019) by Robert Eggers

The Mood for Love (2000) Directed by Wong Kar-wai