Film Theories
Film Theories
Our experimental films fit well into the Feminist Film Theory and the Formalist Film Theory.
"Theoretical film criticism derived from feminist politics and feminist theory. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analysed and their theoretical underpinnings." I feel that our films relate to this theory as we are creating a message about stereotypes, specifically gender stereotypes in Diverge.
However; the formalist theory "film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e. lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing." also applies well to our two films.
Diverge especially fits into the formalist theory as we used a two camera set up. We specifically created a world where we were focused on our actor. We then created 'his world' where we would see 'his camera' and therefore potentially breaking the rules of cinema and the fourth wall as the audience are taken away from the reality of what they are seeing.
I also believe our films fit into the formalist category as "formalist film theorists believe that the art of cinema is possible precisely because a movie is unlike everyday life." (Giannetti 1975) We have taken aspects of everyday life such as clothing and applying makeup but we have created something that is unlike an everyday activity. In Reflection the outfits, along with their stereotypical statement are burned away. In Diverge we have a man applying his own makeup and explaining products with a female voice over. I believe that this fits into the formalist film theory as we are twisting everyday occurrences.
Looking into NEO-REALISM I found that they prefer the actor just to be, they don't ask them to pretend or to act. During Diverge we did the same with Josh. We asked him just to be himself but to apply makeup. Other than telling him the name of each product we left him to do his own thing. It is also found that a natural setting is favoured. Using a bedroom seems like a natural setting for applying makeup. Creating a minimalist set with only the bed behind our actors created a homely feel without either of them looking out of place.
Using artificial lighting is a trait of formalist film theory. We used LED lighting along side natural light coming in through the window to light up Josh and Fran's faces without causing shadows or creating an uneven look.
However; the formalist theory "film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e. lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing." also applies well to our two films.
Diverge especially fits into the formalist theory as we used a two camera set up. We specifically created a world where we were focused on our actor. We then created 'his world' where we would see 'his camera' and therefore potentially breaking the rules of cinema and the fourth wall as the audience are taken away from the reality of what they are seeing.
I also believe our films fit into the formalist category as "formalist film theorists believe that the art of cinema is possible precisely because a movie is unlike everyday life." (Giannetti 1975) We have taken aspects of everyday life such as clothing and applying makeup but we have created something that is unlike an everyday activity. In Reflection the outfits, along with their stereotypical statement are burned away. In Diverge we have a man applying his own makeup and explaining products with a female voice over. I believe that this fits into the formalist film theory as we are twisting everyday occurrences.
Looking into NEO-REALISM I found that they prefer the actor just to be, they don't ask them to pretend or to act. During Diverge we did the same with Josh. We asked him just to be himself but to apply makeup. Other than telling him the name of each product we left him to do his own thing. It is also found that a natural setting is favoured. Using a bedroom seems like a natural setting for applying makeup. Creating a minimalist set with only the bed behind our actors created a homely feel without either of them looking out of place.
Using artificial lighting is a trait of formalist film theory. We used LED lighting along side natural light coming in through the window to light up Josh and Fran's faces without causing shadows or creating an uneven look.
Kaplan, E. (2004). Global Feminisms and the State of Feminist Film Theory. Signs, 30(1), 1236-1248. doi:10.1086/421879
http://www.jstor.org.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/stable/pdf/10.1086/421879.pdf
https://filmstudies.uncc.edu/sites/filmstudies.uncc.edu/files/media/modes_of_filmmaking.pdf
https://filmstudies.uncc.edu/sites/filmstudies.uncc.edu/files/media/modes_of_filmmaking.pdf
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