Notes on Documetaries

large amount of information Quickely
Can portray the past life of individual characters in film, covering everything in a matter of seconds.
Talking heads: Common on features of documents. Either interviews of people on camera or people talking directly to the audience on camera or both. Talking head usually experts.
Color symbolism: Language of color, harnessed in a film is a powerful one. Choise of hues for certain items or its use in out-of the ordinary contexts and even type of lighting to give subliminal msgs. Dont over use it.
Textures: Giving old footage a "grainy" terxture.
Lines: Lines and frames add another dimention.
Sound elements: five channels of information in film: (a) visual image (b) print and other graphics (c) speech (d) music (e) noise
Six types of sound: (1)Narative commentary/ Voice over (2) Talking heads (3) Music (4) Ambiance Sound (signiture of a location) (5) Sound effects (6) Silence

Formalist and Realist Style

	Formalist-style film (expressionism/auteurism)	Realist-style film (cinema verité)
Mise-en-scene/mise-en-shot techniques associated with this style of film-making	Heavily Edited – ‘jump-cuts’ Montage Fast and/or slow motion Low/high camera angles, Transformation of 3D world onto a 2D surface Stylised/symbolic images Artificial setting Artificial lighting No attempt atverisimilitude Stylised dialogue/diagetic Lots of non-diagetic sound Sub-titles or other captions	Long takes, deep focus No special effects/montage Subjective viewpoint – uses camera  lens to reproduce way we look at world ‘Documentary’-style Natural/non-intrusive Realistic/ authentic setting Naturalistic lighting Naturalistic dialogue Lots of diagetic sound Minimal non-diagetic No reliance on external narrators or devices
Definition/aims of this style of film-making	Stylized of auteur Enphasize on the director’s own style Exaggerates the action Formalist film theory is a theory that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film A formalist might study how standard Hollywood "continuity editing" creates a more comforting effect, while the formalist-style of non-continuity or jump-cut editing might be more disconcerting or volatile.	Life as it is in reality Real events in the impression of real time Cinematic realismrefers to theverisimilitude of a film to the believability of its characters and events. Cinematic realism takes as its starting point the camera's mechanical reproduction of reality
Directors associated with style	Sergei Eisenstein Jean-Luc Godard	Roberto Rossellini (Italian neorealist) Jean Renoir Rodrigo Garcia
Films associated with style	October (1927) dir. Eisenstein	Nine Lives (2005)

Narrative techniques in The Life Before Her Eyes

Technique	Description	Effect (in term of driving forward the narrative of the film)	Example from a film
1. Exposition	Fills in the back story of the characters and their situations	Lets us know the motivation of the characters.	When she says “hi” t Amanda there’s a flashback so that we know she’s a friend from school.
2. Dangling cause	Information or action that leads to no effect or resolution until much later in the film	So that your going to watch the film until the end so that you know what happened. Allows for the film to in lots of different levels.	What happened to Maureen and her family.
3. Obstacle	Stands in the way of the characters reaching their goal	Makes it more interesting & dramatic. It demands things to happen.	It is the anniversary of the shooting at her school which makes her very emotional.
4. Deadline	A time limit placed on a protagonist to accomplish a goal	Increases tension. It makes the film more “goal” orientated.	Michael Patrick pressures them to decide who will die.
5. Dialogue hook	Creates a link between two consecutive scenes	Allows to scenes to have continuity and make sense.	Diane says she’s going to take Emma to school and in the next shot we see her at the school

Todorov Theory

The Lion King: 1994 (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff)
State of Equilibrium -Simba is happy with Mufasa. He's going to become King.
Disruption of Equilibrium - Scar kills Mufasa. Simba runs aways because he feels guilty.
New State of Equilibrium -Simba becomes king and marries Nala.


Shrek: 2001 (Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson)
State of Equilibrium -Shrek lives alone in his swamp.
Dispruption of Equilibrium -Lord Farquaad sends the fairytale creatures to his swamp.
New State of Equilibrium -Comes back home to the swamp with Fiona married.


The Color Purple: 1985 (Steven Spielberg)
State of Equilibrium -Celie lives with he parents and her sister Netty.
Dispruption of Equilibrium - Celie marries Albert.
New State of Equilibrium - Celie goes home with Netty.


The Duchess: 2008 (Saul Dibb)
State of Equilibrium -Georgiana is unmarried and lives with her parents.
Dispruption of Equilibrium -Georgiana gets married and the husband trates her apolingly.
New State of Equilibrium - Georgiana and The duke get to an agrement.

Tribeca Film Festival

Foundation:

Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert de Niro and Craig Hatkoff. It was founded in response to the 11th September of 2001 attacks of the Twin Towers.

Purpose of the festival:

- "Enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience". 

- It is mainly for general public which enjoy movies, not too much restrictions

Line-up of the festival:

Independent films such as:

- Documentaries

- Narrrative features

- Shorts

- Family-friendly films

What are the prizes for each category?

For each categories:

- Best Editing

- Best Cinematography

- Best New Narrative

- Best Screenplay

What films won or are in contention at the Festival in 2010/2011?

- Like water

- Artificial Paradises

- Semper Fi: Always Faithful

- Turn on goddammit

World Narrative Competition

2011 World Narrative Competition Jurors:

Souleymane Cissé, Scott Glenn, David Gordon Green, Rula Jebreal, Art Linson, Jason Sudeikis and Dianne Wiest

The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature

She Monkeys

Directed by Lisa Aschan (Sweden)

Winner receives $25,000, sponsored by AKA Hotel Residences; and the art award "Anna Christie Entering the Bar, 1965-1967," by Robert De Niro Sr. . 

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film

Carice Van Houten in Black Butterflies

Directed by Paula Van Der Oest (Germany, Netherlands, South Africa) 

Winner receives $2,500. 

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film

Ramadhan "Shami" Bizimana in Grey Matter

Directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza (Rwanda, Australia)

Winner receives $2,500. 

Best Cinematography

Luisa Tillinger for Artificial Paradises

Directed by Yulene Olaizola (Mexico)

Winner receives $5,000, and $50,000 in post-production services, provided by Company 3. 

Best Screenplay

Jannicke Systad Jacobsen for Turn me on, goddammit 

Directed by Jannicke Systad Jacobsen  (Norway)

Winner receives $5,000.

What is the role of a film festival?

The main role of a film festival is to present and give awards to new films. 

What makes a succesful festival?

- Publicity

- Celebrities

- Good films

- Advertising

Master Class: Barney Eliot (Film Director)

The master class with Mr Elliott in my opinion was of great help to give an idea of how everything works within the film industry. Mr Elliott taught us what would be the way into the film industry and how to get inside it is of great importance to be persistant and know that the film industry is possible and not only a dream.
The short film which Mr Elliot presented to us are not really the kind of films I like, but they were very interesting and having the director of the films made us be able to fully understand the video even though in my opinion the fact of him being there can make our opinion of what we are seeing different. Making for example when we saw "Ultimo recurso" Mr Elliott told us they maked it in order for us to empathise with the man who was steeling from the lady but maybe if he would not have told us that before the film we would not have noticed.
In general, having a film director teaching us about the making of film and how to get into the film industry does help us motivate and see another internal view of the film making industry.

The Matrix - The Pill Scene

Man giving the back to the camera. As soon as the lighting appears he turns around revealing his identity (close-up on his face). Hear a door open.

Morpheus

At last.

Now we can see Neo and a women coming in to the room.

Welcome Neo. As you no doubt have guessed, I am Morpheus.

Neo

It's an honor to meet you.

MORPHEUS

No...The honor is mine. Please come sit.

Guides Neo to a chair. We can see he is not comfortable and hear Morpheus closing the door.

I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. Hmm?

NEO

You could say that.

MORPHEUS

I can see it in you eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake-up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate Neo?

NEO

No

MORPHEUS

Why not?

NEO

Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

MORPHEUS

I know exactly what you mean.

Morpheus sits down on the chair and plays with a case (which contains the pills.

Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain but you feel it, you felt it you entire life there something wrong with the world you don't know what it is but it's there like a splinter in your mind driving you mad. It is this feeling that brought you to me.Do you know what I'm talking about?

NEO

Matrix

MORPHEUS

Do you want to know what it is? The matrix is everywhere it is all around us even now in this very room.

Changes vision to the both of them to show the room

You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you go to pay you taxes. It is the world that is been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

NEO

What truth?

MORPHEUS

That you are a slave Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage, born into a prison, which you smell or taste or touch. A prison, for your mind. Unfortunately no one can be told what the matrix is.

Opens the case and talks while he stares at the inside of it.

You have to see it for yourself.

Lets the content of the case fall into his hands, puts the case on the table and continues talking.

This is your last chance after this there is no turning back.

Shows what he has on his hand (only blue pill) at the same time talks.

You take the blue pill the story ends you wake-up in your bed and believe whatever you what to believe,

Shows what he has on his other hand (now we can see both pills) at the same time talks.

you take the red pill you stay in wonderland and i show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Show close-up f Neo's faces so that we can see he is struggling with the decision.When about to get the red pill Morpheus starts talking again.

Remember, all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more.

Takes the red pill and a thunder can be seen in the background.

Follow me.

The END