Contextual - New Wave Film

New Wave Film

 

New Wave Film Brief 

In my New Wave film I want to illustrate my understanding of the French New Wave conducted from the research I undertook for my contextual studies unit. I have decided that since I focused on the Godard aesthetic for the French New Wave, that I would try and reproduce some of the conventions he demonstrates through his films. In particular I have taken a lot of inspiration from the film A Bout de Souffle (1960) in terms of style and sound whilst also incorporating features from other Godard films in an attempt to make it representative of the French New Wave from Godard's perspective. 

The main thing that I want to keep consistent throughout is the sense of realism as this is a key convention that Godard maintains throughout his New Wave films. To do this I will be shooting with just a handheld camera without the use of tripod to give it a documentary style feel which will maintain the verisimilitude that I am trying to achieve. I will also being using ambient lighting to keep the filming more simple and to give it the "off the cuff" appearance but I would like to play around with colour when it comes to editing such as changing some clips to black and white to replicate the stark contrasts in Godard films which appear almost random in selection. 

I think I can be quite creative with the direction I have chosen because I'm not restricted with the sorts of things I film because of the versatility of the mise-en-scene within Godard films. For instance things such as filming in different locations and with different subjects would appear amateurish to most because it affects the continuity of a film but because this was applauded in the French New Wave it means that I can be more flexible with where and what I choose to shoot. 

I would also like to incorporate diegetic and non-diegetic sound to my film as this another favoured feature of New Wave cinema. 

Planning

I will be using a DSLR camera to shoot my New Wave film to maintain a sense of verisimilitude which can be achieved through the use of a camera alone as it gives the idea of the camera being to a director what a pen is to an author - Auteur theory. 

I have decided that I don't want their to be necessarily be a narrative for my film as I think it will be interesting to attempt storytelling through the use of images alone which relates to the Godard aesthetic as his main focus was on the mode of storytelling rather than complexity of the plot. Despite this, I may include quotations to overlay certain clips if I find them to be effective as Godard often includes themes of existentialism and he was heavily influenced by poetry and literature therefore this would be a successful way of incorporating this aspect in to my film. 

Quote ideas:

Existentialism quotes - 
"Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable."   
"I rebel; therefore I exist." by Albert Camus - ties in well to Godard rebelling against mainstream cinema 

Godard quotes - 
“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.” 
"Every edit is a lie." 
"Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world." 
"Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self." 

Before shooting I have researched the weather forecast for Coventry which is where I will be shooting for my New Wave film. As it was very likely that it was going to rain during my visit to Coventry I made sure that I was dressed appropriately for being outside in the rain as well as thinking about how I can ensure that the camera stays dry and doesn't get any water damage. I will carry the camera bag around with me and when I'm not using the camera I will replace the lens cap and keep it in the bag so it stays dry. When I am shooting I will be cautious of any rain getting on the lens as it can cause permanent water damage and staining on the lens therefore I will keep it covered as much as possible and be wary of surroundings so if the rain suddenly gets really heavy it will become unsuitable to shoot until it gets lighter and more manageable. This means that I may keep having to take breaks to allow the rain to get lighter throughout the day therefore I need to make sure I am making good use of the time that I am shooting to ensure I get all the footage that I need for my New Wave film.  

Evaluation of New Wave film 

A strength of my new wave film is that I think I definitely stuck to the conventions of the French New Wave quite well in terms of the appearance of the film. For example I began my film with a long shot which places the camera right in the midst of the "action" rather than starting with an establishing shot such as birds eye view which establishes the setting of the film. This is similar to A Bout de Souffle by Jean-Luc Godard as his film begins with an extreme close up which was seen as breaking the conventions of cinema as films usually began with an opening sequence. I think this long shot also establishes the camera as being the observer which is similar to the documentary style of Godard and captures "off the cuff" moments that demonstrate the verisimilitude of the French New Wave. I think this shot also establishes a sense of distance between the viewer and and what they are seeing as it's almost like they are observing from somewhere relatively nearby but not in the centre of the shot. 

Another way that I stuck to the conventions of the French New Wave is with the use of sound and colour. For instance the film begins with the cheerful French song "La Madrague" by Brigitte Bardot and the pace maintains a steady pace until the song changes when the shot of the train is reversed and the following clip is sped up to match the increasing pace/tone of the new song "Theme d'amour" by Martial Solal which is used the A Bout de Souffle. By using a song from Breathless it reinforces the idea of the film being inspired by Godard and the viewer is more likely to be aware of what they are viewing in relation to what they know about Godard and his style of filmmaking within the New Wave.

Throughout the film the images change from colour to black and white almost at random much like in a Godard film to engage the viewer in responding to what they are seeing. I also included Godard quotes to flash on to the screen in some clips to add a poetic element to the film because of Godard's influence of poetry and literature. I wanted the quotes to appear as quickly as they vanish because it's almost like if you blinked your eye you would miss it therefore informing the viewer to be active in responding to the film and paying attention to every single detail to understand their purpose. 

I also think I tried to use a range of shot types such as canted angle, tracking,  pan, close up, medium, long etc. I also included an example of breaking the fourth wall when one of the characters turns to the camera and gestures for them to come closer and then points at something they are looking at, this breaks the conventions of mainstream cinema as there are clear boundaries between the roles of actor and director and there isn't always much room for experimentation with this. 

The disadvantages of my New Wave film are that some of the shots don't always fit the pace of the song which can give it a jagged appearance. For instance the long shot of the two characters walking which has been reversed doesn't appear like it has worked properly or perhaps I could have changed the speed/duration of the shot so that it fits the pace of the song at the time it appears. Also the two shot towards the end of the film make the film appear jagged because of the jump cuts and I don't think it necessarily fits well again with the audio however this could be argued as another demonstration of the French New Wave as jump cuts were very commonly used and especially by Godard. Another disadvantage is that some shots appear quite shaky due to the fact that I shot everything handheld. Although I tried to fix this by using the "warp stabilizer" tool, it didn't always correct it, therefore some shots don't appear as smooth in transition whereas others ones do which affects the overall appearance of the film.