The Time Travelers Wife

Hunger

I found Hunger to be a very harrowing film to watch. I thought that the film was very powerful, and successfully conveyed the real life struggles that people go through for justice, which more than often go completely unrecognised.
The story followed a man who under any circumstances refused to back down because he believed so strongly about his cause. The film showed his slow deterioration, which was very disturbing to watch as a viewer. As the man became weaker, and endured horrific injuries to his body and mind, and still he would not back down.
This idea was mirrored in the film by the use of the camera. The most interesting point of which, and probably what the film is best known for, is the use of the 15 minute shot in the middle of the film. This not only showed a fantastic performance by the actors, but also portrayed the characters state of mind and helped the viewer understand endurance. The shot is so long that it creates tension, and emphasises the struggle that this man has every day with the passage of time. The shot makes every moment in the film seem longer, makign it easier for the audience to empathise with the horrors that the character has faced.
The power of the film also comes from the directors choice of showing exactly what happens to the body and mind if it is starved of food for any length of time. This is edited together with shots of the man being presented with food, which to watch as an audience is incredibly frustrating as we are used to the hero of our story surviving - we instinctivley want our hero to pull through and have a happy ending. However, this film was made to document and represent real events and therefore we do not get our happy resolution - emphasising the power of the message of the film.

Pudovkin - Constructive Editing and Heightened Realism

• Wanted to break the boundaries of 'classical' editing
• Based on the idea that a director does not adapt reality, but uses it for the creation of a new reality. For example, the scenes are not comprised of real men, props and landscapes, but of their images. The dirextor then takes this to create his own 'filmic' space
• "Just as the poet takes uses words to create a new perception of reality, the film director uses shots as his material"
• Wanted not only to tell stories but to interpret and draw intellectual conclusions from them
• Developed 'contructive editing' - for example to show a man falling from a tall building, the first shot would be shown from the window into the net, but the net would not be visible to the screen. It is then shot falling from a slight height to the ground. When put together, it creates the illusion of a man falling from a tall building.
• Found that small details of the scene, if shot all in one shot, would not be noticed by the audience, and these therefore have to be shown seperately - for example 'sinking in the mud' and 'the piercing wind'
• Each shot must make a new and specific point
• Found that by suitable juxtaposition, shots could be given meanings which they had previously not posessed - for example if there was a shot of a man smiling and then a shot of a revolver, followed by the man looking terrified, the man would suggest that he is cowardly. But, if they were reversed, the outcome would be opposite and he would be seen as heroic. Different emotional effect can be achieved according to the order.
• In another experiment, he took an actor and shot him with a neutral expression. They then put the shot next to a can of soup, then to a dead woman, then to a littel girl playing with a toy. In each the audiences raved about his acting skills, about how sad he was about the woman or lovingly looking at the child - but the face was the same for each one, thus proving the emotional control of editing.
• Concentrated as a director on the emotions of the people in his films
• Everything makes sense one clip after another - link by link, brick by brick.
  

Presentation - Night Journey

How you have approached the edit

When approaching the edit, I took into consideration the genre of the rushes that I was given and the nature of the script, in order to create an atmosphere which I believed to be suitable for the piece.
The main aspect which I wanted to convey was that of the tension between the characters. As the script seems to be psychological thriller in nature, it seemed the most appropriate. I wanted to set up an atmosphere that is tense and secluded, and one which seems to be isolated, so that the audience would empathise with the man with the cannibal.


How you’ve established the characters relationships

I began by have the two characters appear together, opposite each other on the chairs of the train. This gives the impression that they are in a situation from which neither of them can escape. This is firstly due to the way in which they appear - it subtly suggests that this is where the characters are supposed to be and that they cannot change that of their own free will (because of the editing and the camera positioning them there rather rather than them walking there themselves). This is also emphasised by he fact that the audience cannot see a door - therefore no means of escape is visible.
As the scene progresses, I chose to use a lot of close up shots of the characters watching each other. I wanted to make it clear that the cannibal is in control and so I used shots of the cannibal looking amused, and reverse shots of the man looking scared and on edge. I also put in small gestures from the man to suggest fear, such as him nervously clutching the newspaper.


How you’ve built tension

I have built tension through the relationship between the characters themselves. As I wanted to maintain that the cannibal was in control, I used longer shots to establish this. I also used close up shots to show the emotion in his face and reversed this with the terror in the face of the narrator.
I also considered the timing of the character movement in relation to the narration. For example, when the cannibal sounds particularly threatening, I used a clip where his face is stern and he is leaning forward, making him look more menacing.
I also considered to shots between the characters. By using close ups and tight framing, I believe that I highlighted the emotions between them and therefore the tension for the audience.


What are the key moments

The first key moment is when I chose to use a black screen during a piece of narration "That's right. That's how it is." This reinforces the idea of no escape. The sentence itself suggests no escape, a situation which cannot be changed (that's how it is) and the black screen gives the impression that there will be a sudden end.
The second key moment is when the narrator begins to question the motives of the cannibal. I used clips here that make the cannibal look particularly menacing and amused, whereas the narrator looks confused as he begins to question what he is thinking. This gives the audience the clue that there is tension between the characters.
Thirdly, when the narrator struggles to stay awake. It is here that I wanted to make the audience feel helpless as he cannot stay awake and aware. I coupled it with the narration of the cannibal saying that he will "do what he wants with him", increasing the sense of fear and helplessness and again reinforcing the idea of no escape.
The final key point comes at the end, which I believe works quite strongly. I chose to also black out the end of the narration when the cannibal is telling the narrator that it doesn't matter because he will fall asleep anyway. This is particularly terrifying as it suggests that once he does fall asleep, the cannibal will attack. I therefore chose to black out the end as it not only reinforces the black screen from the beginning, but it suggests that the cannibal will now attack but the audience cannot see. I believe that what the audience assumes from the blackout works as a strong, scary ending.

How it differs from the script

When working from the script, I was pleased to find that I had a lot of freedom with it. There were not very many commands on the script and so I could interpret it how I wanted. I chose to keep in strong points in the script, for example the beginning with the cannibal walking down the banking, but I added my own style to it. Instead of using a fade out, I decided to cut it to a black screen as I believe this worked better.
In the middle of the piece, I decided not to look at the script much. I followed the narration as a starting point and arranged my piece according to what I thought looked appropriate. I wanted to establish the tension between the characters in this part of the film, and so I used a lot of shot - reverse - shot between the characters to develop their relationship.
At the end of the piece, I kept the idea of the narrator beginning to fall asleep, but I edited the last few shots according to what I thought would make the audience feel the most frightened for the narrator. I wanted to convey a sense of helplesness, which is why I decided to use the black screen at the end.

How you’ve thought about sound

Sound is not my strongest skill, so I found it quite difficult to use and did not concentrate on it as much as the editing of the image.
With the narration, I sometimes split it up so that it was not just one piece and I could time it in whenever I wanted. However, this disrupted the sound as the noise changed when the narration was not present. So, when a new piece of narration was started, I made sure that I faded it in so that it did not appear to suddenly come in and sound out of place.
I had a constant sound of the train noise in the background, which I layered over the narration so that there was ambient noise of the characters being inside the carriage.
The sound which I concentrated on most was the of when I had a train rushing past in the background. With all train sounds except the first (where it was not appropriate due to the quiet ambient noise following it) I wanted to have the train rush past, sounding loud and terrifying. The most important aspect was that I did not have the train stop at any point - it always appears as if the train is carrying on, very quickly, giving the impression that the train may never stop.

How it changed over time

To begin with, I found the piece quite hard to begin to edit. As I am not very familiar with editing, I was not really sure how to begin. However, using the script as a template was very useful. I also found the log sheets useful, as it was easier to locate a desired shot.
I began by being very strictly loyal to the script - which was a mistake to begin with. I soon realised that the film was not making sense and I therefore decided to interpret the piece more loosely and this was where I began to understand how to structure the piece. I think that in parts my piece may be a little repetitive, but I am happy with it as a first attempt.

My Winnipeg

I found My Winnipeg entertaining, but a little hard to watch.
The film is a fantastical documentary construction of the director's home town. Therefore, before I watched the film, I expected a happy documentary showing his beloved home town in an endearing light - however, all my expectations were shattered!
I found the style of the film quite hard to follow at first - the documentary style is quite unsettling next to the fantasy elements for a viewer. But once I accepted this, it was easier to watch and understand.
However, I was confused as to how the director actually felt about his home town. The topics themselves were often morbid, yet they were presented in a comedic style much of the time. So how does the director feel about his home town?

Wisconsin Death Trip

I found Wisconsin Death Trip to be quite an unsettling film, for a few reasons.
Firstly, the content itself. The film showed an account of the many deaths that have taken place during the final decade of the 19th century. This itself seems to be a very morbid topic, and I was therefore unsure of how to approach the film when watching it.
The deaths were presented mostly as very serious accounts of murder or suicide, but occasionally it would be presented as comedic. I was therefore unsure of how I was supposed to feel most of the time - was I supposed to feel sad for the deaths, or laugh at the hilarity of the situation? I was unsure of the directors intention of what he wanted the audience to feel.
Although the film was presented in an entertaining and engaging way, because of how unsure I was about how I was supposed to be feeling I was also unsure of what the director wanted to say through the film. What is its point?I also thought that the style of the film was quite repetitive - one account of death after the other. Although it was structured well and I found it entertaining, because there was no sense of a narrative it just seemed to be a collection of events. Perhaps this is what the director intended, but i did not personally feel that doing so necessarily did the film justice.
So, overall, I found the film entertaining, but was unsure of the director's intent. I could not decide what to make of the film, or what I was supposed to have learned from it, and so therefore felt unsatisfied. I do not think that the film was made to entertain, but to give the viewer an insight into these real events.