I created a stop motion piece in my previous unit and I said I would very much like to follow on from that to create an actual video. I really enjoyed making the last one but there was a lot that needed to be improved on and put more effort into it. I knew I wanted to make a video at some point in the year and this is my chance. The stop motion I made was in a way a creepy look inside my mind in the past. I was haunted by awful dreams and the stop motion was to represent that and in a dream like way as well which is why it was called Sweet Dreams...
I would like to expand on that from my past and look into the sad times in my life. I had a difficult past to deal with especially emotionally and mentally. I grew up in a lovely family home but at the age of 4/5 when my parents split and it just went down hill from there. My siblings went to live with my Grandparents with my Father and I had to stay with my Mum. At the age of 8 my family suffered a huge loss, my Auntie passed away. It was a very tough time in life and I want to create something to represent how a child feels with situations like that. Its not looking at the worst side of depression but almost through the eyes of a child at how it feels and how it comes across as feeling. I know with this I am going a lot deeper than with the Sweet Dreams... however this is a way in which I can express how I felt and maybe open other peoples eyes who haven't been through it to see how a child must see it.
I will start by looking at photographers who have produced films and other great producers of the world past and present. Doing this should help me to develop a storyline and a way in which I want to shoot the actual film. I have decided already that I would like to use my daughter to represent me as a child. She is the right age for the part and did very well in Sweet Dreams... for me. I will be mainly looking at photographers who have done film as well as images.
I have decided to start with William Klein. He started as a photographer who took an interest in photography but who was good enough to get a job offer by Vogue. He has made documentaries of Little Richard - The Little Richard Story (1980) and Muhammad Ali - Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee (1969).
His first film was Broadway By Light (1958). I think this is a long short film for what it is. I know the whole point was to show the lights and very little else but it does start to get a little boring towards the end. I do however like the different camera angles and the different effects used so scenes would merge into one but both going in opposite directions. I think the music is odd though. Its the sort that repeated all day would get on your nerves but I can see how it works as it is busy music like the lights are busy and in your face with how bright they are and how they flash. The music also has a chill feel to it so creepy in a way. I could see it being used for a horror or mildly scary film.
This is a link to Klein's first film...
Below are a few examples of his street photography, I really like the graininess of these images and the hight contrast. They were all taken on an old black and white film camera which always gives you the sort of effect I love to see with black and white images.
(Image found at https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7g9IksGqiUM/maxresdefault.jpg on 05.06.2016)
(Image found at https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/06/william-klein-my-pictures-showed-everything-i-resented-about-america#img-1 on 05.06.2016)
(Image found at https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/06/william-klein-my-pictures-showed-everything-i-resented-about-america#img-3 on 05.06.2016)
Next I am going to look at an all time legend of film making... Stanley Kubric. He is well known for just about every film he ever directed. A few of them being Spartacus - 1960, Lolita - 1962, Dr. Strangelove - 1964, Clockwork Orange - 1971, 2001: A Space Odyssey - 1968, The Shining - 1980, Full Metal Jacket - 1987 and Eyes Wide Shut - 1999.
I have seen The Shining recently and have to say I loved the film. I was watching it for the purposes of this unit and picked up a lot of how it was filmed rather than the storyline itself so I had to watch it again shortly after so I could follow the story instead. I thought it was brilliant. I have noticed that Kubric likes symmetry a lot which I have in common as I do too when Photographing. I thought the use of bright colours helped to set the film the well. I patterned carpets and walls seemed to give more life to the film and make it feel like the 70's. I found the woman in the bath and blood coming out of the elevator rather freaky along with the bodies and the blood. I haven't seen many films like this before and it does mess with your head. I liked the way those scenes were flashed on the screen briefly in stead of holding it for a long time. I think it gave it more effect and as you weren't ready for it, it was a shock. It really does make you wonder what Kubric was trying to get out with the scenes and how he shot them. I know the film was based on a Stphen King book but I have read reviews and articles where King has stated that Kubric did change a few things which he wasn't too happy about. I think as a director you have to add a bit of yourself into there somewhere and that was Kubric's way of doing that. I liked the angles and the different view points in this film. I think I would try to incorporate a few of them into my film and see how they look.
Here are a few snippets from The Shining...
(Image found at http://idyllopuspress.com/idyllopus/film/images/headershining2.jpg on 05.06.2016)
(Image found at http://www.idyllopuspress.com/meanwhile/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sh_w4.jpg on 05.06.2016)
(Image found at http://www.larsenonfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/shiningtwins1.jpg on 05.06.2016)
The next artist I am going to look at is Anton Corbijn. Until recently I didn't know he had directed any feature films. I thought his focus was still music videos. I think Corbijn's photography is fantastic and he is one of my favourite photographers. I love the grainy high contrast black and white images he creates. They are easily recognisable if you have seen his work before. I love the fact that he has moved on to feature length films. I didn't realise but I have one of them on dvd and have done for a couple of years. The American... I have now watched it and thought it was a good film. The storyline was a little slow in places but the filming side of things there were some greatly shot angles which I could again look at doing with my video. I think you can see some of Corbjin's style of photography come through with the framing of some of the scenes.
(Image found at http://collider.com/the-american-movie-images-george-clooney/ on 07.06.2016)
Next is someone whose work I have been looking at for over a year. I sat one evening, shocked, watching a lot of short films from an unusual artist called Chris Cunningham.
In my opinion is an absolute genius but has a very twisted mind. A lot of his work is creepy and very odd. It is almost nightmare ish. How someone could think about creating the work he does I don't know. All I can say is that I love it but I can't watch everything or I'd be scared for life. The way he frames is just brilliant and some of the camera angles are different to what you would expect. The more videos I watch the more I am starting to recognise his unique style and special effects.
Below are the links to a few, in my opinion, epic videos made by Chris Cunningham...
https://vimeo.com/43444347 - All is Full of Love - Bjork (Director - Chris Cunningham)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDdNn0x7Y0Y - Mental Wealth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M71fmWPvXi4 - The Great Below (NIN + Chris Cunningham)
(Image found at http://thescoutmag.com/assets/0000/1482/blog_cunningham_bjork_grid_3.jpg?1267645692 on 07.06.2016)
(Image found at http://cdn1.uk.mentalfloss.com/sites/mentalflossuk/files/5/89//playstation_mentalwealth.jpg on 07.06.2016)
Nick Knight is another artist I have researched before for his work as a photographer and a director. I think his work is really good and one video in particular I did enjoy was Born This Way in 2011 for Lady Gaga. There is a lot of symmetry in this video and a lot of shots filmed from above which I quite like the idea of. I'm not sure if I would be about to incorporate that into my own video or not but it is something to look at for a future one maybe or take that into my photography.
Below are a few images taken from the video...
(Image found at http://i0.wp.com/www.nicolaformichetti.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Screen-Shot-2013-11-29-at-9.38.59-PM.png?resize=2844%2C1586 on 07.06.2016)
(Image found at http://barkbiteblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83548795069e2014e8664500b970d-600wi on 07.06.2016)
(Image found at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEZXncPUwpF6r8PIkfEF1UJwCl0sNz8XfDun8P_qXzeZ1vTxGd7aUcpB3th7wHy8sOXLMabcfNzVLzFD7fad48dDvtSy6h_cxX2qjoRDB6mttjU98fQc_9NDezjpbQ55UJCcoNbDVrSDE/s400/BTW_6.jpg on 07.06.2016)
The final artist on my list to look at is Seamus Murphy. His videos are very distinctive, he seems to like a more abstract shot, therefore not focusing so they are blurred. He doesn't seem to use flash much, a lot of the videos I have seen don't appear to have anything bar natural lighting. There is also a slight vignette in many scenes as well but that might be the settings on the camera or the lens. There is a clip of a refection in a river which I very much like. That is on Home is Another Place. I think this is something that I would like to try and look into doing something similar on my video.
Here are a couple of examples of what I am describing above...
(Image found at http://cdn.hitfix.com/photos/712282/pj-harvey-autoharp_featured_photo_gallery.jpg on 07.06.2016)
(Screen shot taken of http://www.seamusmurphy.com/Films/Home-is-Another-Place/1 on 07.06.2016)
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