New Wave Essay Bibliography

Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Dir. Arthur Penn. DP. Burnett Guffey.

Midnight Cowboy (1969). Dir. John Schlesinger. DP. Adam Holender.

Taxi Driver (1976). Dir. Martin Scorsese. DP. Michael Chapman.

Ebert, Roger. "Taxi Driver Movie Review." All Content. Michael Phillips, 01 Jan. 1976. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Giannetti, Louis D., and Scott Eyman. Flashback: A Brief History of Film. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986. Print.

Macnab, Geoffrey. The making of Taxi driver. London: Unanimous, 2005. Print.

Other sources found but not used:

Fairnie, Alan. "French New Wave". Slideshare.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

Hitchman, Simon. "American New Wave: New Hollywood, Direct Cinema, And Independents". Newwavefilm.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.

New Wave Essay

For my new wave essay, I chose to analyse the American New Wave. I chose three films, Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Taxi Driver (1976). The process of making this essay was to gather research relating to the American New Wave and other influences such as the French New Wave, collect relevant clips from my studied films, write a script and record it in the college studio. I think one thing that I did well was to structure my video in a clear way with some clips corresponding to the topics that I was talking about in the commentary. I also think that I did well to talk about the influences behind the new wave and the reasoning behind it's inception.

Making this video essay further informed me about the history of film especially American cinema. It helped give me in insight into how to film in a creative way, as this was really the only way that they could film. The film makers had to compromise and come up with innovative films to get around their restraints bought on by the lack of backing from large studios.

There are a few things that I think I could have done better though, as I didn't plan my time that well and put a lot of strain on myself on the last few days. For example, I think I could have spoken in more detail about specific scenes in my movies and the conventions that they used, especially when relating to how they characterised the new wave style. Also, I think that my video and script could have been longer, adding more detail to my points. This came down to me wanting to finish the video for the deadline, and having a second cut of the video would help to make sure I explained everything in more detail. I see the video as more of a summary of the new wave, rather than a critical analysis.

New Wave Film

Evaluation

For my new wave short film I filmed in and around Birmingham, and I encoded the conventions that I came across while researching the various New Waves (mainly American). My video does not follow a narrative, which stemmed from the lack of a strong narrative in my studied new wave films. I chose to have a relaxed hip hop beat in my video, which I think worked well because it is simple and doesn't detract from the visuals much. Also, it allowed me to cut on the beat but also off beat. I used this off beat cutting style at various points in the video, such as the very last shot of Lewis smoking. The convention was especially reminiscent of the French New Wave films such as Breathless, which cuts at random points and utilises jump cuts. 

The whole video was filmed in natural light or using artificial lights in stores because the films I studied didn't have the budgets for professional lighting. I think this worked well for my video because it gave it a natural feel and nothing felt staged like a high budget video would. Also another convention I picked up from these films was the use of extended long shots, which further stemmed from the lack of budget and the need to save as much film as possible. However, I don't think this worked effectively in my video because these shots relied on a planned narrative and for the shot to be staged in a way that forwarded the plot, and my long shots were redundant and were of random things like people walking in the street. 

In terms of health and safety, I had to make sure that I was operating the camera in the correct manner and also conduct myself in a way that wasn't causing concern for the public. I made sure that I wasn't blocking the pavements while filming and also I didn't directly film people in a way that made them uncomfortable. Even though it's legal in the UK to photograph people in public places without their consent, if I was filming somebody directly I still think it's a good idea to talk to them and make sure that they are okay with it.

I think my film could have been improved greatly if I had shot with a stronger narrative in mind. In my design brief, I stated that I wanted it to be structured in a free form style, which was a convention of new wave films, but it ended up being a bit too formless for me to really classify it as 'new wave'. 

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.

Shot Types

The premise of this task was to research different shot types and to then use them to create a demonstration video of each one, ranging from types of framing to movements in shot.

The Fall of the Studio system

The traditional studio system was the primary method of filming and distribution for Hollywood films created between the 20's and 60's, where the market was essentially composed of 8 major studios. During this time, the studios created films on their own studio lots (which were purpose made for the films), distributed them through their own distribution sub-companies and showed them at their self-owned substantial theatre chains.

My chosen films

Bonnie and Clyde

"Small-time crook Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) tries to steal a car and winds up with its owner's daughter, dissatisfied small-town girl Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway). Their crimes quickly spiral from petty theft to bank robbery, but tensions between the couple and the other members of their gang--hapless driver C.W. (Michael J. Pollard), Clyde's suave older brother Buck (Gene Hackman) and Buck's flibbertigibbet wife, Blanche (Estelle Parsons) --could destroy them all."

"Convinced of his irresistible appeal to women, Texas dishwasher Joe Buck (Jon Voight) quits his job and heads for New York City, thinking he'll latch on to some rich dowager. New York, however, is not as hospitable as he imagined, and Joe soon finds himself living in an abandoned building with a Dickensian layabout named Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). The two form a rough alliance, and together they kick-start Joe's hustling career just as Ratso's health begins to deteriorate."

"Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city. When Travis meets pretty campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving the world, first plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, then directing his attentions toward rescuing 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster)."

New Wave Research

For my contextual studies I am going to study the American New Wave, and in particular the three films: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Taxi Driver (1976).

Dir. Arthur Penn

John Schlesinger

Dir. Martin Scorsese

The 'American New Wave' or 'New Hollywood' was a period of time from the mid 60's to the early 80's when the prominent film studios fell into obscurity and a wave of new, mostly young filmmakers come to prominence. These film makers had heavy influence over the way films were made and also the types of issues and themes that they tackled. The films were often low budget B films as the directors didn't have the huge budgets from studios to back them, and a lot of characteristics of American New Wave style is born out of this lack of funding. Examples of this are the use of regular people (non actors), handheld camera shots, and shooting on location rather than the big purpose made studios previously filmed at.

Dubbed the "New Hollywood" by the press, their films were mostly financed by the major studios, but they introduced subject matter and styles that set them apart from studio tradition. They re-worked and re-imagined some of Hollywood’s classic genres – such as the crime film, the war film and the western – and by so doing, presented a more critical view of America past and present.
The films that came out in this era were not perfect: experimentation and mistakes were common and plentiful, and this new mindset and approach to creating films is something that largely inspired the new young film makers of the current generation. Before World War II, the French new wave directors looked up to American film makers and were influenced by them, and then they were actually able to make movies which led to the French new wave. After this, the studio system collapsed and the new American directors were in turn influenced by the French, and although a few of their techniques carried over, it was mostly the approach and the freedom to express taboo subject matter that infiltrated the new films.

French New Wave Notes

After the second World War, films continued to be made in the same way as before, with editors having to conform to the established rules. In France, a group of critics wanted to challenge the rules, and proceeded to create their own films. The result of this movement was very influential to directors like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese etc. These film makers helped to change the perception of what film making was. It's important to note that the techniques they used weren't new at all, but Hollywood had never been exposed to it and so for American's, it was new. Bonnie and Clyde paved the way for the American New Wave, and in particular influenced Easy Rider.

Breathless


- The eye-lines don't match up in the shot reverse shot
- Jump cuts ahead in car
- Breaks the fourth wall
- Camera points at sun
- Breaks 180 degree rule
- Cuts to close ups in weird places

A Woman is a Woman

- Cuts straight outside with no context
- Intercut with shots of the television
- Breaks the fourth wall
- Is concerned with life rather than a grand story
- Music stops and starts for conversation
- Is very self aware that it is a film
- Red white and blue clothes in wardrobe, symbolizes French flag

My Life to Live

- Starts with close ups, personal connection with the audience
- Back to camera, no facial recognition
- Man is out of frame
- Same technique is repeated but behind the man

Contempt


- Can't see the actors faces, they are cuddled and being very personal and intimate with each other
- Actors are self obsessed, always talking about beauty and themselves
- Colour grading goes from red, to white, to blue, represents the French flag

Band of Outsiders

- Natural sound, not edited
- No cuts, natural conversation
- Sound cuts out completely
- Talks about films in a film
- Music cuts out during dance
- Natural dance, not perfect
- Whole thing is one shot

Alphaville

- Shots are random and sliced together to create a narrative
- Sticking a camera in a revolving door
- Long continuous takes, natural lighting
- Actions goes out of camera, doesn't cut

The 400 Blows

- Boys coat changes, didn't care about continuity
- Camera inside spinning ride, innovative technique and produced beautiful results
- Captured real reactions, not staged
- Capturing the real reactions of the kids watching the show

Jules and Jim


- Handheld camera is very shaky and you can't see very much
- Conversation is all one shot to save film
- People are reversed in shot reverse shot, didn't care about continuity and made mistakes

Easy Rider Analysis

In this clip from Easy Rider (1969), two couples take acid and the scene uses multiple techniques to represent what the resulting effects are. The clip's use of these techniques is experimental and immerses the viewer into the world, giving a direct point of view to allow a more personal experience.

The clip starts with a wide shot of all four people sat down, and you start to get a sense that they are distressed. The woman on the far left kisses her guy, and the guy on the right is shaking his head. Pair this with the fact that the camera is static and you can decode that they are bored, have nothing better to be doing with their time, and are just hanging around for the sake of it. One man then proceeds to get out pills and they all take one. The shot doesn't cut, nor does the camera move, but continues to stay static. This allows the audience to take in all the small emotions, movements and reactions. This also infers that the group is very calm when taking the drugs. The camera isn't shaking or even handheld so there isn't a sense of panic behind something illegal. When asked what the pill is, the man with them says "nevermind, just shut up and take it" which further shows that he doesn't care about it.

In the background, there is diegetic noise off camera which sounds like the thumping of industrial equipment. It is rhythmic and plays through the whole clip and it adds an unusual sense of urgency and grit to the clip. The noise isn't far from the beat of a heart, and so even though the sound is distinctly machine-made, it adds a human quality to the audio. On the other hand though, the sound seems dangerous, like it is looming in the background. In this way, it also seems to act as a caution, or at least something to warn the viewers that something isn't right. Not long after they take the pills, there are short inter-cut clips of the outside of a building, which is the first time anything is shown but the static shot of the group. The cuts are paired with non diegetic audio of a woman speaking a Christian prayer or passage. This creates a juxtaposition between good and bad: religion tends to focus on making yourself a good person, namely to get into heaven, but the group are drinking and taking drugs. This creates an interesting dynamic as the short cuts are to show the resulting effects of the drugs they have taken.

The cuts between the shots get more frequent and last longer as supposedly the drugs start to take more of an effect and the camera pans up the building so that the sun shines right into the camera. This makes the screen very bright and gives a feeling of being overwhelmed, like everything is building and becoming more prominent. After this, we start to cut to a variety of different things, like the woman reciting the dialogue who is shown with a low angle close up shot. She dominates the screen for a second but now her voice is drowned out by a combination of the industrial thumping noise, ambient noises and somebody else speaking. This implies that everything is being drowned out in the group's heads, like their focus keeps shifting and they are being flooded with sensory inputs. There is a brief shot of the sun behind trees, and the camera focus shifts so the sun quickly comes out of focus, further playing into the feeling of being overwhelmed.

The man who originally got the pills says "shut up" in a very rapid shot of him leaning against a statue. This may be because he's feeling discomforted with his high, and wants the voices to stop. The montage of shots has an emphasis on religious iconography, such as a mid shot of a priest or minister and a zooming out shot of a small Jesus figure on a cross that pans up the building toward the sky. Also, the scene is set in a graveyard which results in some gritty images that give the scene a harrowing and dark presence. You see a woman taking her clothes off, and the next shot is of her lying in the graveyard naked. The adds to a theme of sinning that runs through the scene, starting with them drinking and taking drugs.