Firstly there is one film in particular that Tilly has kept referencing and referring to through out for visuals, style etc an this is 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl'. She also spoke about this in particular when talking to me and Masie about editing style. I decided to go watch this film and analyse it in terms of the editing but also slightly the way the film aims to effect an audience so that I can think about how we can effect our audience too. Here are the main points of what I analysed from the film:
- The Speed and pace is used importantly through out but noticeably in the introduction sequence. It helps to show us what she is seeing from her perspective and how she feels about it. She is happy so things have this euphoric feel to them with slow shots lingering on the things around her she is looking at as she walks in this euphoric state. The pace is slow which also juxtaposes with the pace of the rock music playing. This again adds to the euphoric feel and also adds excitement to this sequence rather than it flowing in the traditional manor. These techniques are used powerfully in this opening sequence to make it a powerful opening but these techniques are also used a lot through out the film too.
- The ratio on this film is interesting as letter boxing has been used (black bars above and below) which makes the screen look thinner and smaller. I like this use in this film as it really adds to the vintage feel of this film. Girl Happy has some vintage aspects to it so I will have to discuss this with the Director.
- The colouring of this piece is really important with the vintage feel too. It has an orange warm hue to the piece which adds to the retro feeling. Also it adds to the piece emotionally making everything seem a bit nicer than it maybe is. This is almost like putting us in the teenage girls mindset - Naïvety! I really like the way this colouring can do this and we will need to think abut the colours that need to be used for Girl Happy to make it as effective a possible.
- There are a lot of lingering shots which hold on awkward situations. This makes the audience feel that same awkwardness that the main character is feeling and therefore we are in this same vulnerable state she is. Rather than just fast paced we also need to focus on the lingering slow shots too to add to the situation. Also having the main characters voice overs on some of these lingering shots in this film again makes us enter her headspace even more. This makes it seem more immersive for us and again this is worth considering in Girl Happy.
- There are a lot of intimate moments and situation we see in this film and this is always enhanced by the use of closer up shots in these situations. As the characters get more intimate we as an audience move closer. The camera also shakes in some of these situations to make use feel like the camera is really there and involved. Again its an immersive tool used. If we have the shots to be able to do this for some of the intimate scenes I would like to approach them in this way.
- For the phone conversations in this film we have back and froward shots between the characters who are on the phone. We begin with longer shots held on screen for longer a lot of the time then as the conversation progresses often getting more intense or exciting the shots get shorter and closer in to build a mundane situation up.
- There are some really nice continuity cuts used when we change location and place in the film. They match up the shapes and objects on screen so that when we cut to a new situation instead of seeming jarring like it could do, it instead progresses fluidly and therefore we stay very much interested as an audience and focused. I love this technique anyway but in this film it really helps and if this is possible I would love to see if we can achieve some continuity cuts in Girl Happy.
- It is also important to notice that we usually follow the main characters eye gaze so we see her go to look at something then as an audience we are then looking at that too. I like that as it really its us in her shoes and is effective at this.
- Some of the wide shots are held for a long time almost just observatory shots which again makes us enter the main characters head space as she is simply trying to observe life and figure things out. This leads us to try and think as she does. We also cut away into her memories with her again adding another level of interest to the piece but also keeping it realistic and from inside her head space.
- We get to see a lot of shots were the main charter is also listening in shots as well as talking when she's in a conversation and I think its really important to remember to do this sometimes when filming and editing. You want to show the main character not only talking but taking in and absorbing whats going on and being said for the first time the same way that we as an audience are. It makes us really connect to her as a human being.
- We spend a lot of time in this film alone with the main character just watching her in everyday life, shots and pace are really important in these sections because they dictate to the audience without the character even talking the feelings she is feeling in the moment.
- As well as using speed to build I really like the intensity being built with slowness holding shots which show bad things happening for a lot longer than usual. These show us things that are upsetting her and it really makes those shots have gravitas and even the power to upset us by holding on them for such a long time.
- I like how emotions are really reflected in this film through techniques used. For example when she gets upset the cuts become jumpier and the camera is shakier to physically show her turmoil. This helps to influence the audiences emotions and I want to keep in mind when editing how I can best display and enhance the characters emotions like this.
- Fast cuts are also used to bombard us helping show how exciting and intense new places are for the character. In the scene outside the bar we are introduced to all new people she is also seeing for the first time and it makes it overwhelming, the same way it must be for her.
- The technique and paced used through out this film are really effective but also the lack of this pace and technique is used to enhance the film too. This pace and technique disappears slightly in the first drug taking scene where we see the main character taking drugs and drinking. The editing becomes more random, jumpy and visually different. This makes the new experience for her then stand out as a new experience for the viewers too.
- Continuity cuts of her crying add power to her sadness in one of the most emotion sequences. We see her cry in different locations and this makes us see the sadness taking over her.
- Sound is also really important in this film. Natural sounds are used a lot but then silence is used as a tool to then intensify situations. Music is then use to bring the mood back up, which is different to how most films use music to add sadness. The visuals work with these sounds in this way all seamlessly fitting together to make it flow effectively always immersing us in the main characters emotions.
- The ending has strong visual of her alone in her room conveying the final message of this film and giving us an ending that isn't dramatic in an obvious way. I really like this as it makes you think a lot more.
Overall I found this film to be really interesting and exciting to watch because of the way it manages to effective you as a viewer using so many subtle techniques in the film making and the editing that immerse you in the main charters head space and emotions, yet it still flows naturally enough that you fully focus on this and it feels realistic to the audience. I will be keeping what I ahem learnt from this in mind while I am editing Girl Happy as I feel like it is important to get the emotional intensity right as this film has done.
A genre that got mentioned a lot in discussion with the Director was 'Mumblecore'. The director explained that she was partly influenced by this genre along with others. This genre stood out to me because I haven't ever heard much about it before and wanted to find out about it so that I could fully understand the references and influences behind Girl Happy and the Directs vision. I began by finding a definitions online for Mumblecore. I found out that mumble core is a niche genre of low budget film which focuses on the naturalistic and often uses non-professional actors sometimes improvising dialogue to achieve full naturalness in this. Mumble core seems to have branched off from the low budget indie film genre. It has progressed forward further into naturalism often creating comedy which arises from very normal characters and very mundane situations and struggles like paying the bills for example. I have read that there is often a focus on dialogue over the plot to achieve this realistic life feel. The whole purpose is to avoid dramatising situations (typical of high budget and hollywood films) and instead keep it real and therefore connectable to real life for audiences. Instead of forcing a plot you let real life situations and dialogue lead the way instead of a false performance.
After now finding out the basics of this genre I am really intrigued as it sounds interesting and I can see where Girl Happy has taken some influence from this. I looked at some clips from suggested mumblecore films such as 'Before Sunset' which made me really see how the dialogue is made so natural and how it feels like such realistic integration between people. 'Frances Ha' which used lots of real situations and showed the drama and comedy in them. 'Terri' which shows real people and believable relationships between them. I have looked into these amongst others and I feel like I feel confident in what mumble core is now and as a genre it is interesting. I feel like Girl Happy isn't a mumblecore film however I can see where techniques can be used to make it feel realistic like the long lingering shots and the long pauses. Also the conversational back and forward editing does need to be rushed.
Overall this research and analysis has really helped me get inspired and feel more confident and focused now when beginning the edit of Girl Happy next week. I feel like it will be much stronger now haveing made sure I now know the full inspirations and references of this film and the end goals.
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