Freud, Film and The Unconscious
Psychoanalytical Approaches

- 3 posts on the theories, Freud, Lacan and Mulvey (on blog)
- Analysis of applying these theories to 3 films, analyse sequences from films (3 posts)

Freud believed that "[Dreams are] the royal road to the unconscious" and that they contained important clues into the human psyche (Weiter, 2004:195), much of his initial research methods involved questioning his patients on their dream experiences and using their descriptions as a means of uncovering their 'true' motivations and perceptions on the world.

"Film operates on much of the same principle... film speaks directly to the unconscious, the language of dreams is one that is not an abstract form of communication such as narrative, but is one that is filled with images they carry hidden meanings on a latent level. Just so is the language of film organised so that only a part of the film is communicated in a narrative form- sound and images make up the majority of the effect." (Kluge, 1999)

Therefore, the nature that is film can be, to a degree, deconstructed in order to unveil a universal understanding of our thoughts and behaviours that through identification, contributes towards our enjoyment of the film as it acts as a release mechanism of these id induced impulses.

Freudian Analysis

- The Id- Tyler Durden (Unconscious desires/ the 'repressed' - set free without conscience)

- The Ego- The 'narrator' (The conscious/IKEA lifestyle - comfortable)

- The real Tyler can be found between The Id and the Ego (one half each)

-The superego - Initially: 'The self help groups'
Then 'The Fight Clubs
Then 'Project Mayhem

-The superego will regulate 'pleasure', it will censor the Id, but will also license it

-Freud explained his famous model for brain function in the 1927 publication, The Ego and the Id. Since then, the theory has been explained with reference to a horse and chariot.

ID: most primitive, irrational and emotional, selfish, concerned only with it's self satisfaction, pleasure and instant gratification, wants

Ego: reality principle, tries to meet the basic needs of the id but also takes into account the real world, balance

Superego: Based on moral principles, morals, compromise


ENEMY

Lighting Techniques

In this video, I demonstrated the main lighting techniques used in film and television. The techniques are edge lighting, rembrandt lighting, butterfly lighting and three point lighting. These techniques are used in commercial films but I showed them in a talking head interview style, as this was the easiest to set up in the college studio.

Edge lighting just involves one light source, which is placed to the side of the subject so that it only illuminates half of their face or even less. The result is quite a moody image, and gives connotations of duplicity so is often used with characters that have a darker side (as their face literally has a dark half) or have negative intentions. This shows that lighting can give a more powerful meaning than simply to illuminate the actors.

Rembrandt lighting also only involves one light source, but it is placed at a fourty five degree angle to the subject, and about a foot above their head. The creates a simple but flattering effect, and is characterised by a small triangle of light underneath one eye. This lighting technique originated from the painter Rembrandt who used to paint his subjects with this lighting technique, and it got translated to photography and film.

Butterfly lighting also uses one light source, this time placed directly in front of the subject, above their head pointed down towards them. It is characterised by a butterfly shaped shadow underneath the nose due to the light being pointed down towards their face. It was often used by fashion photographers in the 30's because it is a flattering technique for a model's face, and it is also simple to set up.

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.

Lighting Setups

Suggested Setups:

A small documentary where portability is paramount"

-A powerful but portable LED light, maybe one that could attach to the camera

-A fold-able reflector with both gold and silver panels

Firstly, the subject isn't specified so I would think that a powerful light source is a good idea as you might need to shoot some pretty open things. Also, I think having a light that could attach to the camera is a good idea since you don't want to have to carry a light around if you are looking for portability. A fold-able reflector is important because it means you can shoot in harsh daylight without a large piece of equipment. A downside of this setup is that you may need a more powerful light source if shooting something other than portraits so you would have to sacrifice portability.


Talking Head style interviews"

-Three lights (for three point lighting)

Three point lighting is a staple technique where one side of the subject is lit with the main light, then the shadows on the other side are filled with a less powerful light and lastly a light is directed on the surface behind the person so that they stand out from the background. This technique has been used for years and is reliable in producing professional results. A negative of this setup though is it is hard to film an movement in it, as the placement of the lights need to be specific and moving around causes the effect to change.


"A night time shoot"

-A larger light

-A soft box 

-Reflector

-Camera that can shoot in night vision

For a full night time shoot, a larger more powerful light source would be needed, as you're providing all the light artificially. To avoid this light being too direct and harsh, a soft box would help to provide a nice even distribution of the light on your subject. A reflector is a good idea any time using artificial lights, especially if you want to do an interview at night and need to make the person look as good as possible. Lastly, night vision capabilities are a good idea, although not necessary. This would be for somebody looking to film a documentary, maybe a wildlife video in the dark.

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'. 

Aperture Demonstration

Aperture is another element of photography and moving image that determines the outcome of your image. Aperture affects how wide the aperture ring in your lens opens and how much light is let on to the sensor. Aperture is measured in 'F Stops' and they can range from numbers like f1.4 and f3.5 all the way to f20 and f30. When you use a low aperture like the former, it is called a wide aperture because the ring opens up almost all the way, and when you use a high aperture the ring only opens up a small amount. This not only affects the exposure level but the depth of field you get in your photos. The lower the aperture number, the smaller the depth of field is which results in your subject being in focus but the background being blurred. However, if you use a higher aperture number, you get a larger depth of field and more things (if not all) areas of the photo will be in focus. This applies also to moving image, and the aperture affects the opening in the ring for every single frame in the video. This allows filmmakers to make creative choices for their film, such as isolating a person by blurring the background, or having the whole image clear and sharp for establishing shots that require everything to be seen. Below is a diagram of aperture rings and their F numbers along with how this affects the depth of field.