Tim Burton and German Expressionism

This video shows how the director Tim Burton is influenced by German expressionism in his films. It shows some very early expressionist films and compares them to some of Tim Burton films.

 As you can see Tim Burton has got ideas from old expressionism films and used them in a more modern way. He uses the ideas of sharp straight lines and very contrasting light. To use this genre of film to make it work in a movie where you wouldn't expect it. For Tim Burton to use German expressionism in a super hero film is very unusual as super hero films are not set out to be filmed in this way but the show Arkham in this way really revels how dark and twisted a super hero film can be.

 In this picture Tim Burton has used the German expressionism way of showing loneliness and darkness by having houses in places impossible to actually live but this will show how animated and over the top German expressionism is and how Tim Burton's films really capture that too. He has also copied the way in which you can only see the top of the hill and no other life which really emphasises the concept of either alone or feared.

Finally in the picture you can see that the shadows in German expressionism are very important and how they can tell a lot about a character and Tim Burton really pits this into a lot of his work including in Vincent, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and many more. Tom Burton also uses the long fingers and arms and long features to create more scary and dark shadows which is also a main feature of German expressionism

how does the director use mise en scene, camera work and sound to establish character in the opening of Se7en?

Figure 1

In figure 1 the character is in his apartment and it looks very small and confined. This creates a sense of being trapped as he can not leave the city or his life, it just keeps closing in on him and now he is trapped in the same city doing the same job with no escape. Also his head being cut of shows that there is no escape because usually the camera would zoom out when he walks past but the camera stays there to show how the routine in his life cannot be broken. The chess board connotes loneliness because its a two player game so it can show how he used to have someone in his life to play it with. Also it can show that he is intelligent. The wild track in the background is of sirens and city life which is always in this characters head as he can not escape this life because he is always thinking about it and living it everyday.

Figure 2

In figure 2 the character has the possessions that matter most to him. He reaches for the detective badge fist which shows how he is always thinking about his job first so links back to figure 1 that he can not escape his life because he is too involved to quit now. The paper rose symbolises the love he has for his wife and he puts it in his jacket pocket so it is close to his heart so his wife is always with him. The flip knife is a Chekhov's gun which means it will later be used in the film and this knife is not used as a weapon but as a key to unlock the the evidence to the crimes in the movie. It shows again that the character is very intelligent and the well kept pen also shows that he takes pride in what he does, along with the glasses case showing he is very sophisticated and wants to look the part and be organised.

Figure 3

 In figure 3 the two characters are meeting for the first time and have met at a crime scene. As they are walking down the street the camera stays at a low angle shot so we can only see run down or old and dirty shops. This shows that the city has no life inside of it and can only be a mysterious and crime ridden place. The rain constantly falling on the characters shows that the city is miserable and again, has no life in it any more which shows how the character in figure 1 feels about his life. The sound of the rain and the hustle and bustle of the city life is the wild track which is playing here and this relates to figure 1 where the character can not escape the sounds of city life. When they walk down the street they keep bumping into people and the character on the right doesn't care about it where as the character on the left is weaving in and out of people and this shows that he isn't used to the kind of life style and is fairly new to the scene. The character on the left is shown to be full of life in a city where there isn't any room for that so you realise that he will not be able to cope with it in the long run.

Figure 4

In Figure 4 the character is in bed and trying to get to sleep but you can hear a wild track of sirens and city noises outside his apartment but this could also be in his head as he can not escape the city because of the entrapment that has been put on his from it. There is a metronome ticking in the background which can show that the only way for him to escape is to try and distract himself from what is going on around him. This can show that the character over thinks things and needs something to try and get his mind away from the city hustle and bustle. The camera is very central and the rule of thirds is used very well to show that the character may not be able to escape his life he has but he does have it very well balanced and under control at this point.

How does the sewer scene from The Third Man use framing and composition techniques, mise en scene and cinematography to create, meanings, metaphors and effects?

Figure 1

In figure 1 the lines that surround the character are all pointing inwardly and toward him. This connotes the feeling of being trapped and how everything surrounding him is pulling him back down further and further. the character here is being trapped by inorganic shapes which means that he is forcibly trapped beyond his own will. The small and confined space of the spiral staircase connote being trapped and how the character in figure 1 will always be trapped as the spiral staircase will just keep going round therefore indicating a feeling of eternal entrapment as he is always on a downward spiral. The low angle shot shows how he has lost all power and is trying to struggle to freedom but the camera is just far away enough for it too look like he is almost falling into the darkness of the sewers again. The lighting on the wall beside him is slowly vanishing which can connote lost hope because as he started to climb up the stairs there was hope there but the further and further he tries to escape the more he realises that his freedom is lost and that he has no hope left. The theme of lost hope is used a lost in the sewer scene as it relates to the real life context of the lost hope and anxiety of Europe at the time after World War Two. Vienna is a perfect example of lost hope post World War Two as it used to be a city of art and great culture but in the time of the 1940's and 50's it was a hotspot for the black market to excel which in turn shows just how the hope is slowing being lost not only in this scene but in the city they are in at the time.

Figure 2

In figure 2 the character is blocking out the light which connotes lost hope. He has been running for a long time but eventually the hope has been blocked out by himself as he is the one who ruined his own life. The scene has a vanishing point in view which is unusual as in most scenes, such as the one in figure 3, it is out of view. This shows balance and harmony in this scene as the whole time the character was running the shots were tilted and the vanishing points were out of view because it creates a sense of confusion and distortion but everything is now in balance as he has been caught with no where to run so there is now a sense of moral clarity. On the walls the light gets darker the closer that he it gets to him which shows that he is a dark and immoral person and not even the light can get past him because of how his darkness inside will only make things around him dark. This is showing how in Vienna at the time there is darkness that surrounds it and cannot be got rid of by just the light, it has to be backed into a corner and physically gotten rid of. This can be things such as the black market that thrives in Vienna.
 

Figure 3

In figure 3 there is a character that seems to be running into the light which would usually connote hope however he is running further and further into the sewers which would mean that he is just following the lost hope that he has inside himself. He is running into his own entrapment but in his mind he is running to freedom. The vanishing point is out of view which creates distortion as the character doesn't know where he is going so he has to rely on the sewers for his escape so as the character is confused so the viewer is also just as confused. In this scene although he is running into the light there is still darkness that surrounds him which can connote evil as he is bringing darkness and evil with him into where he believes is freedom. This can also be compared to figure 2 as he is surrounding the light in his own darkness because his character cannot ever go to the light, just block it out with darkness.

Figure 4

In figure 4 the character is trying to run away from what he has done but the only place to go is down the almost pitch black stairs. This connotes a dark journey that this character has inevitably lead himself to because of what he has done. The only place for him is either to get caught or follow the dark path into the unknown. The chiaroscuro lighting is used to show who is evil and who is good in this scene as the character Harry Lime on top of the stairs is the dark character therefore he has dark shadows around him and very dark walls where as in the tunnel the police officers are the only light there which shows how they are trying to stop the evil. The shot is tilted to show confusion and disorientation within the characters and the viewer. The characters in the tunnel are trying to catch the character at the top of the stairs so there is confusion between where they need to go and if they will find him. This creates a sense of disorientation by allowing the rule of thirds to be broken and our eyes to try and work out the scene instead of our eyes being shown where to look.   

Preliminary task

The preliminary task was to film and edit a person opening a door, walking across a room and then sitting opposite another person. There had to also be talking between the two characters. 

Planning 

In my group we planned to shoot the footage in the Ark. We used a floor plan to see where we would position the cameras and then set up the cameras where we drew them and if they didn't seem right we would adjust them accordingly. We set up cameras in many different angles to ensure we got the right angle for the scene that was being acted out. In my group we made sure that the 180 degree rule was not broken by not rushing the set up of the cameras and planning where the line of the 180 degree rule would be. We used a storyboard to plan where the shots should be from in each scene, however our storyboard did break the 180 degree rule a few times to we had to improvise to make sure everything was fine. It was all organised effectively and we used a tripod to ensure that the shots were smooth and it could be edited easily. The only other thing I could of done is make sure my storyboard had more detail and didn't break any rules.

Techniques

In my group we used many different techniques to ensure that we make it look as smooth as possible. We used shot reverse shot when i put my hands on the desk and that angle was a shot where we were both in shot. Then we got a close up of Cody from a different angle with him looking down at my hands. We then edited it so that it ran smoothly and looked as if Cody was looking at my hands. 

Other techniques used were the rule of thirds. In the shot above you can see that Cody's face is in line with the rule of thirds as in our scene his character it tied up but still is in control and is not worried about his situation. It can create a sense of power for the character as they are not in any trouble. 

We used continuity editing to make everything flow and we did this by editing the shots so that it looked like me or Cody were still doing the same action or saying the same line. We used nose room and head room. the Nose room in the shot to the right is very little as there is little power imbalance in the two characters and they are not isolated at all. 

We used a dip to black to show where the scene ends and make it flow more. 

Main learning points

From this project I have learnt that I can edit effectively and understand the software that we used to edit the short film. I have learnt that setting up cameras properly and making sure you plan properly for example finishing the story board. Also I have learnt that it is important to incorporate many different shots and angles to be able to have a lot of shots to choose from and then it is easier to do continuity editing. I was able to find out how to dip to black and select parts of a clip to put into the short film. 

EDITED: How do directors film a conversation?

Some of the main rules in a conversation are the 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot, rule of thirds and nose room/head room. The 180 degree rule is that when two people are having a conversation there will be a imaginary line between their eyes where the camera shoots them from. Shot/reverse shot is when you have a character looking at an object then a shot of the object and when the camera is back at the character they are still looking at the object. 

The rule of thirds is when there is 9 boxes across the camera and the characters eyes and face will be in line with the lines or sometimes jot in line, this will crate a sense of that character is off the rails. Nose room is when you have space in front of a character so they have room in front of them. Head room is how much space there is above the character and if there head has been cut off or if it is fully in shot.

Tips for filming a conversation are you have to have shot variety so that the viewer doesn't get bored with the scene and have a lot of ECU's and other shots like that to show emotion in the conversation. Another tip is to have a over the shoulder shot to show people are talking to each other.

In the clip, Gus and Walter are talking and at 1:04 Gus has been given a lot of nose room because it shows how cautious of Walter he is and how he doesn't trust him. At 1:32 Walter has a lot of head room and nose room. This shows how isolated he is at the time as he is begging to work with Gus and has no power at this point. 

In this clip, Dexter is talking to a police officer about the crime scene they are investigating. Throughout the scene even though dexter is waling around there is still a 180 degree rule as the camera always stays the same side of them. At 0:41 Dexter has lots of nose room as he is the one in charge of the situation and he is the powerful one in the scene. 

EDITED: Peaky Blinders Task

In this image the men are walking through a still puddle and disturbing it. It would symbolise them disturbing the peace and showing how easy it is for them to destroy things but jut showing up, which means it signifies the power they have. The men all have the same boots on which would signify gang culture and a sense of authority as boots are smart and show wealth. The shot of their feet creates mystery as we don't know who the men are yet and as you know from them disturbing the peace that they are going to be powerful and it allows you to picture how they look in your mind.   

In this image there is a group of men together which signifies power and brotherhood. The fire in the background connotes their power as well as it almost shows a hellishness to them and that they are walking into the fire. The bystander has a flame-thrower as it creates danger and power. A profile shot is used because it can show the expressions on the men's faces as also show off their outfits at the same time. There are dark shadows on their faces from their hats which would connote darkness either inside them or from what they are about to do.

In this image it creates a sense of mystery because it has a shot from behind which allows you to see where the men are going but you can barely see where they are as there is smoke and fire blocking there way which signifies that they are walking into hell or walking to meet someone who is more powerful than them. The hat in the middle gives it a western feel as if they are going into a saloon and in most movies where there are saloons they will be violence and murder in them so it allows you to know that they have gone where ever they are going for a fight.


What can we learn about how to shoot characters walking in this scene of Peaky Blinders?

From this scene we can learn that using mystery and tension before introducing character faces can make the audience intrigued as to who the characters are and what they are doing. Also you can use low or high angle shots to show how powerful you want the characters to be. Other camera work that can be used is a long shot, especially when the characters are walking in a group and this allows you to create a sense of gang culture or brotherhood. Finally another thing we can learn is how important the background is to how the person or people walking are viewed, such as in Peaky Blinders there is a flame-thrower in the background which connotes danger and this is a key example of how the background can say what you want to about the characters you are filming.

Summer Task

I am comparing Casino Royale and LA Noire on their differences and similarities. 

In Casino Royale the colours are black and grey where as in LA Noire the colours are very bright and bold. In Casino Royale the colours are darker to create a sense of mystery and to make you curious about why they have chosen to make it that dark and immediately creates a sense of a dark film. In LA Noire the colours are very bright because the whole intro is about how amazing the city of LA is and how the American dream can be for filled there. Therefore the bright colours make the city look attractive, safe and the perfect place to be.

In LA Noire there are a lot of long shots showing surroundings and props where as in Casino Royale there are more close up shots. In LA Noire the long shots are used because it allows surroundings and props to be seen and it allows you to take in the whole city and you get sense of greatness from just how big the city seem to feel. In Casino Royale close ups are used to allow the viewer to see the emotion on the characters faces. The main character James Bond has a long discussion with another character sat at a desk. Close ups are used in these scenes because it allows you to see if either of them make any expression or loose their poker face.

A similarity is the costumes that are worn in both of the productions. In LA Noire and Casino Royale they both have suits or smart clothes on. the matching smart outfits would indicate wealth and a gang culture in both of the scenes. the costumes are also very detective looking which means that automatically you can understand that there is going to be the theme of crime and violence in both of these productions. 

Introduction

Hi I am Ben and this is my media blog.