New Wave Film Design Brief

After researching the American New Wave and watching three of the defining films (Bonnie & Clyde, Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver), it became apparent that they all shared similar film making techniques and the freedom to express taboo subject matter. These factors stemmed from the reasons the new wave came to fruition. Some common techniques included extended long shots, often of seemingly pointless subjects, a heightened expression of violence as compared to previous films and the subject of prostitution and the sexuality of women.

I plan to film on a day out in Birmingham, using a variety of locations such as the roof at the library, Digbeth and the canal. I want to film at these locations because a common trait of the American New Wave was for the crew to film in natural locations such as the streets of New York City, which gave their films a sense of naturalism. This choice also mainly stemmed from the lack of a high budget, which meant that they could not pay for a custom-made studio lot. As a result, this meant that their films contained random pedestrians and usual activities going on in the background of their shots which is something I want to carry over to my short film. Often the people being filmed were not aware of the camera and so you got real interactions and the sense of realism was heightened.

A common convention in new wave films was the lack of a strong narrative but rather a loose narrative that wasn’t as strict. This is another element that will carry over to my piece, as I plan to just shoot whatever catches my attention and piece it together afterwards, trying to just order it in a way that conveys a sense of storytelling. I plan to film the journey there on the train, which will be jump cut and give an intro to the film.

I also plan to use a lot of cross dissolves between shots to either show the passage of time or to blend the clips into something that might even confuse the audience. I can see this being the case when there are a bunch of clips that are similar in subject matter, and it should create a feeling of disorganization or even be likened to the acid trip scene in Easy Rider. A trait in these films was a self-awareness of the movie being made, and I want to shoot reflections of myself in shop windows and also film the other students with their camera. This breaks the fourth wall and you no longer feel like you are watching a story that has been specially created, and that’s something I find interesting and want to try out.