Video Access and Rationales

Uncomfortable_Filmmaking_Short1_Jaden Arendtsz.mp4

Our first video revolved around narrative subversion. We subvert narrative by taking the common plot device of ‘inner monologues’ and twisting it against it’s conventional usage in cinema. Typically in cinema the inner monologue is a convention used to show the “true thoughts of a character”, (Bordwell, 2015). Playing with this idea of inner and true thoughts we thought that a creative way to subvert narrative and audience expectations would be to present regular dialogue in the form of an inner monologue. According to Bordwell inner monologues most evidently show that they have not been spoken. This is most commonly done by not showing the actors lips moving while still hearing them talk. Since we chose to film using POV shots, for most of the film we never see our characters’ mouths move. However, we altered the audio by adding reverb and echo to differentiate it from regular dialogue and communicate to audiences that it wasn’t being outwardly spoken. Our film ends with an unexpected ending where the POV switches and you are able to see what appears as the inner monologue that has been consistent throughout the film, yet you see the characters mouth moving and outwardly saying every word, confusing the audience as the common convention for inner monologues is broken.

Uncomfortable_Filmmaking_Short2_Joseph Barclay.mp4

Our second video concentrated on subverting cinematography through using a range of different shots that utilised several conventions seen in the horror genre, to ultimately overturn the audiences expectations through an underwhelming climax. The concept was to depict a potentially harmful or scary situation between two characters to then have an anticlimactic ending or genre change. Essentially, our film is about a girl walking up to her friend and having a conversation, however our subversion creates a sense that she is going to hurt him through using alternate genre tropes and norms. Throughout the film, the main techniques we applied to recreate the horror genre were lighting, as well as camera angles and movement. We employed dark and gloomy lighting as well as shadows are commonly seen in this genre and is able to easily cue the audience into recognising and identifying our themes, light is able to ‘make objects, people and environments look beautiful or ugly, soft or harsh, artificial or real’ (Chandler, 2001). Low and high angles, zooms, hand held camera movements, close ups and tracking were all shot elements that we used to portray horror. Although editing wasn’t the technique we were attempting to subvert, it went hand in hand with our concept. The editing process involved adjusting colours, adding sound effects and slowing clips down to enhance our disruption cinematography film norms.

Uncomfortable_Filmmaking_Short3_PhoebeHewertson.mp4

For video three, we focused on subverting continuity editing, and editing conventions in film generally, employing a broader genre of Comedy. The comedic effect is in the stripping away of a story that is built up through performance and around in-camera transitions, and then is dismissed through a cut to behind the scenes. We aimed to make the short aware of itself as a form of comedy and achieved this through a break of the fourth wall; the viewer can watch the fictional narrative play out, the criticism of it, and the behind the scenes of the filming, all in the one video. Conventionally, editing is employed to be continuous, this is done through “matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot”, serving to clearly provide a continuous narrative (Bordwell et al. 2020). To subvert these conventions we chose to not adhere to temporal continuity, the 180 rule, or aligning eyeline levels. Additionally, we did not have an establishing shot, as well as the evident colour grading to differentiate the stories, the addition of sombre music over the fictional sections, and an awareness of the genre through a voiceover and general distortion of the audio and speed.

Bibligraphy

Bordwell, D. (2015) 1932: MGM invents the Future (Part 1), Observations on film art. Available at: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2015/03/08/1932-mgm-invents-the-future-part-1/ (Accessed: 25 August 2023). 

Bordwell D, Thompson K & Smith J (2020) Film Art: An Introduction, 12th edn, McGraw-Hill Education, New York.

Chandler D (2001) The ‘Grammar’ of Television and Film.