I personally don’t understand this horror theme going on with clowns these days. I mean, seriously.

^^^^

The above comment was my deluded opinion before I’d watched Heath Ledger play the role of the mentally deranged ‘Joker’ in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008). Man was that some scary as … clown. Now, this particular clown was horrifying because of what can only be described as a fantastically psychotic portrayal by Heath Ledger. Now, watching ‘Clown Train’ I disappointedly realised I was rather intimidated and perhaps the tiniest bit fearful of this clown. One of the reasons that led to my emotional response was the sound effects in this film, which I think worked successfully in not only creating a frightening character but also, enhancing the menacing atmosphere of the film itself. The most effective use of sound, in my opinion, was in the silent moments that seemed to exacerbate the sinister ambience in this environment. Not only did it create a serious tension between the two characters in the film but also, continually established the isolation of the two in this sickeningly menacing environment. Furthermore, the oddly dominant buzzing sound of the inner train (which developed a realistic portrayal of a train) continually enabled a desolate and dangerous atmosphere, which succeeded in making me somewhat uneasy. Although non-diegetic, I feel the high-pitched screeching sound perfectly fit with the mood of the scene and helped intensify the audience’s anxiety regarding the predicament of the boy. I’m reminded of the most recent genre film I saw, ‘Paranormal Activity’. Now, what’s interesting about this film is that, although the scenes are made to be as though non-fictional, they utilize the same sound elements as Clown train, in an attempt to instill fear. For instance, when, and this occurs in all 5 movies, the characters are asleep in bed, there is a continual diegetic buzzing sound that appears to be from the camera. Such a buzzing sound synonymously establishes an uncomfortable ambience. Similarly to Clown Train, extended moments of silence take place immediately before a loud screeching sound which functions to speedily develop anxiety within the audience. What I have begun to acknowledge and understand is that, specific genre films such as that of horror, employ almost identical sound techniques in order to achieve a very similar, fearsome atmosphere.

Rolling- a short film.

Firstly: Great casting. I found the role of the shy, slightly awkward boy genuine in it’s reflection of human emotion. His uncomfortable pauses and frequent anxious coughs made for, although comically geeky, a three dimensional teenager. This reflects positively on the dialogue in the script. Furthermore, I feel the somewhat humiliating conversation was supplemented by the diegetic sound created by the background buzzing of the fridges in the store, which exacerbated the awkwardness of the silent moments between the exchange. I found the close up of the shelves intercut between the continual shot reverse shots within the conversation allowed for an interesting dynamic between the two characters that regulated any potential repetitiveness due to the length of the conversation. Similarly, the close ups on the male lead intensified his emotions which made him more authentic and associable. The diegetic sound of the two characters speaking was very clear and comprehensible, which reflects an attention to signal to noise ratio. I feel the central event of the toilet paper was a good decision as it creates conflict whilst remaining consistent within the world of this fictional reality within the supermarket. The motives of the characters are synonymously reasonable.  

Although the story was effectively realized through the visual and sound elements I struggled to find uniqueness in the narrative elements. The predictability of the movie somewhat undermined its creative potential. However, for the ‘boy meets girl’ cliche, the film performed successfully. Although I feel the dull lighting of the shop’s interior strongly reflected a real supermarket interior, it somewhat detracted from the scene. I feel that the filmmaker could have better echoed the infatuation that the male had with his crush through more saturated colors and brighter lighting.

Firstly, I want to draw attention to the fact that, what i thought i knew about cinema, is part of a minute theory that attempts to explain narrative. From engaging in the weekly reading I find that there are multitudes of theorists out there that attempt to explain the narrative, all in the hope of perhaps understanding its structure. I’ve always been caught up in the story and plotline whilst remaining ignorant of the fact that, the narrative in itself, exists as part of a much larger process involved in the creation of media works. In reading Robin Pickett’s, ‘Getting an Idea’ I found that you cannot separate the narrative from the medium that will ultimately realise it, the medium that will bring it to life. You have to consider the best possible manner in which your story could be told. For instance, imagine you had constructed a narrative in which a pair converse for 20 minutes without interruption. Within this conversation you include pauses, long silences, changes in tone etc. Now, my opinion is that, if the conversation was realised on radio, the audience would perhaps lose interest, or become distracted whilst, if realised in a film, changes in shots, physical characteristics, scenery and other visual elements combined with audio would result in a much more compelling and engaging scene.

I tend to find myself blank or trapped as I sit and try to conjure up a storyline even when I am not inspired by any kind of story. I had always been told that one has the capacity to gain inspiration from anything. However, I felt that as I’m writing a narrative, I needed to just sit, pull myself together and imagine a story. Once again, my naive knowledge proved exactly that: naive. Pickett quotes Polanski who, when writing with Gerard Brach decided to write the kind of elements they would like to see on screen, the type of character attribute, the kind of emotions and so on. This concept perfectly manifested itself in class where we were offered a sheet of paper on which we created a character and all their unique attributes. Using such attributes as my foundation, I created a story. For instance, if my character were high maintenance, that inspired me to create conflict in which her high maintenance personality was challenged and so on.

This really opened my eyes to my capacity as a writer. How can you understand your capability as a writer when you haven’t attempted alternative ways to write? I know this concept has already expanded my capability.

Jasmines lecture on screenwriting was a great introduction into the process itself. Being a totally inexperienced newbie I thought I’d struggle to understand the foundations of screenwriting. However, I never really grasped just how structured the process itself is. I had always had such crazy ideas roaming around in my mind. The problem was and remains to be that I can’t seem organize or get these ideas onto paper because of the infinite possibilities the offer. Yet, Jasmine spoke of how- and this is somewhat ironic- in order to realise creativity, one must place certain limitations that enable you to assemble your crazy ideas so as to result in realistic and achievable projects. What I truly appreciated was the fact that this piece of advice is universal in terms of it’s relevance to everything we do in life. The only way to truly realise your ideas is to set some limitations, to allow yourself some guidance.

You know when you were young and someone would ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and immediately you respond, “a doctor!No a painter! No, a musician!” Well, It’s comforting to know that if someone asked me that now I’d say exactly that: “a director! No, a writer! No, a script editor!”. Yep, it’s safe to say I’ve really come to know what i want. I thought that’s what you did though…when you grew up. I thought that one stage in your teens, preferably sooner rather than later, you suddenly have an epiphany… a little light bulb goes off in your mind that illuminates your career path. Boy was I wrong. I guess that’s why I’m already loving ‘Film-Tv’, my goal is to use it as an opportunity to find out what I like simply through a process of trial and error. I feel, if i gain experience in a wide range of tasks within this crazy film- making journey, I may have a little more clarity about the elements I love. I CERTAINLY want to develop my practical skills in the production process, primarily Lighting construction and editing. So I’m definitely looking forward to growth this semester, whether it be monumental or minute.